Jamie finished her Ph.D. dissertation in 2002 and wanted to reward herself; so she went looking for a stallion to breed to her mare Niki. On the journey, she found a new friend Connie, who owned a beautiful black Arabian stallion. Although Jamie didn’t end up breeding Niki, she spent several nights in Connie’s barn, hoping to see a foal born. As it turned out, Carson was born on the one morning Jamie couldn’t be there – but she was there within three hours and bought him on the spot. It was Earth Day, so Jamie named the colt after Rachel Carson (the famous author of the book Silent Spring, a 1962 chronicle of the effects of DDT on the natural environment, often referred to as the catalyst for the modern environmental movement). Carson became Jamie’s favorite riding horse, and they showed in sport horse and dressage classes at a few Arabian shows. Carson wasn’t thrilled about showing, though; he much prefers trail riding, as does Jamie. Carson is a 14.3-hand, flea-bitten gray, registered purebred Arabian gelding born in 2002.