Everything was going great for him. The bills were paid, the farm was making money and all the horses were healthy. After years of struggling to prove his horses in the show ring, they were finally making their mark. Finally, people believed in his bloodline. Maybe, they even believed in him.

All that changed when he sat in the bleachers of the farm show building one autumn night, enthralled by jumpers and driving horses and high-stepping champions from around the country.

It wasn't as if he had never been to this show before. Every year, he tried not to miss this gathering of champions, Olympic hopefuls and entertainment for horse lovers of every style and persuasion. Every year, he wondered if, he, too, might stand there, accepting an award and being caressed by the polite applause of the crowd one day. It was time to choose the breed that was right for him.

He didn't choose the most popular breed at the show, but that didn't matter. What mattered is how he felt in their presence - the way his spirits lifted and his posture elevated; the way he felt as if the world was a great place to be... a place where anything was possible... as long as there were horses this beautiful in it.

With his decision made, and knowing there was no turning back, it was as if he had found a direction in life... a path...

If other people wouldn't trust him with their horses, maybe he could raise horses for himself. If he was a nobody in the show ring, maybe he could transform himself into a somebody. Why not? he thought. Why couldn't he take charge of his life and change his destiny?

He bought a mare and his first foal was frightening. The responsibility of it shook him. Had he selected the right sire? Would his mare - not only an investment in his future, but a dearly loved friend now - be a good mother? What if she wasn't? What then? And what if the foal wasn't good enough for the show ring? Yes, he knew every horse has its place. Every horse is a good horse to love. But, he was searching for horses that were right for the show ring. He was searching for horses that were noble and brave and great.

He needn't have worried about his first foal. He needn't have worried about the first one, or the next, or the next after that. As the years went by, like a Paris fashion designer presenting the treasures that bore his name, he stood with his horses. Time and again in the show ring, the crowd's applause grew stronger. After a while, it didn't matter anymore if he won more ribbons, trophies and praise. After a while, it only mattered that he was still there, smiling and looking on... shimmering, old and wise.

"Why do you do it?" they asked him. "What does all this matter?"

"What does it matter?" he asked them in return. "If you think all this is about ribbons and pretense and flattery, you are missing the point.

It matters because this is a search for excellence and it encompasses every emotion, talent and hope known to mankind. In that search for excellence, we become stronger, more sure of ourselves, and we grow in ways they will never teach you in school. I can think of no other way in the path of life and awareness that brings us so close to Nature, and awakens us to our own, great potential. If that isn't important, then what is?"

They were lofty words from a horse breeder, but horse breeders can be very thoughtful. Certainly, his ideas went far beyond the local veterinarian's office or feed store that defines the social life of so many other horse lovers. In the course of his lifetime at horse shows, he met, talked and laughed with untold thousands of people - including dignitaries, celebrities and business leaders far beyond his hometown and his country.

The young handler didn't allow life to stop him. Raising his own horses because nobody trusted him with theirs, he chose to become the best that he could be and horses filled his life with laughter, sorrow and every emotion we can ever know.

At the end of his life, with ribbons, scrapbooks, trophies and photographs marking the way, I wondered if anyone else could ever step in his empty shoes and follow his path.  As friends took care of his horses and his dog, folded his clothes, packed his treasures away and wrapped up the story of his life, I wondered if he ever realized the importance of that simple decision to raise his own horses and follow his heart so many years before.

What does it matter, they had asked him. What did any of it matter, they were asking themselves now.

Looking at his beautiful horses, and knowing how many he had sent to faraway places over the years, I thought about the people who loved them... and finally understood the answer to that question.

Maybe it was never about being a horse breeder at all, I thought.

Maybe he was some kind of uncrowned ambassador, showing people how to fly above their troubled lives - giving people the mental freedom to see beauty every day in a grey life without heroes; saying to us, we are greater than we know.

Maybe - just by following his heart and doing what he loved - this "nobody" who loved beautiful horses and wanted the world to see them, took a pebble and tossed it into a pool of water. As the ripples went forth, maybe he managed to shake just the right hand, smile at just the right person, or say just the right thing at the right time.

Maybe, as the ripples went on, they changed volatile world events for all of us. It was a lot to think about... the funny thing was, it could be true.

Without such mentors in our midst - we never laugh as hard or feel as silly. Our eyes never twinkle with mischief in quite the same way... and we never dare to try for the great things we hope for.

These horse-loving friends are teachers along the way. They really are ambassadors without accolades. They are, truly, leaders without political agenda.

Treasure them, for it does not last. Love them. Hold them, and never let them go. Talk with them about the world, and ask them anything you want to know. Listen to them. Laugh with them. Cry with them; there is a lot to cry about. And, then, cry until you laugh again.

If you can do all that, and do it well, then you will be as lucky as the luckiest stars in all the heavens and you will begin to know...

like they have known... what really matters.