My horse, Lukas, and I were at America’s Family Pet Expo on the Orange County Fairgrounds. Months earlier, I had contacted the event coordinator, Debbie, and she had invited Lukas and me to be the first equine participants at the largest pet exposition in the United States.

According to Debbie, "This has been something that we’ve wanted to do for the longest time – let’s see what we can do to make it happen!"

Let me back up for a moment and give you some history on Lukas. He’s an ex-racer and former rescue and we’ve dedicated our lives to sharing hope and happiness for those less fortunate, and to show how wonderful and smart animals are if we only treat them with respect. Also, as a psychiatric nurse for the last twenty-six years, one of my primary missions is to include children in wholesome family activities. The Pet Expo seemed like a natural way to integrate these ideals, so Debbie and I set about to make it happen.

What would Lukas need? The goat and pig pens wouldn’t work and dog crates would be of no help. During the weeks leading up to the expo, diagrams and sketches crossed back and forth between us until we came up with a twelve by twelve corral with a cover for shelter, along with a turn-out double that size for Lukas to stretch his legs throughout the day. Our booth was located next door and situated at the main entrance, as Lukas was to be the "Official Greeter." It certainly sounded good on paper and we forged ahead. In the meantime, Debbie and the organizers were able to contact and secure a half dozen other equine groups and performers.

On opening day our arrival at the Expo was uneventful and Lukas’ pen was, as promised, the center of attention. It was also next to the busy vendors, the noisy food court, a petting zoo, loud speakers, the live performance stage and a dog diving tank. For good measure, there was a roving pug wearing leathers and riding a remote motorcycle. How could a Thoroughbred – highly bred for fear and flight – handle all this, you might be thinking.

Lukas, in addition to being dedicated, is also the World’s Smartest Horse, according to the World Records Academy, and a Guinness World Record Holder for "Most numbers correctly identified by a horse in one minute: 19." Our daily lessons are spent with him focused on discrimination tasks and intricate liberty (free) movements. Without a pause, he entered his Expo pen and waited for my signals like the pro he is. We spent the next four days with children lined up to watch and touch him. Countless questions and comments followed, and more than once we had to clarify that Lukas was certainly not a cow.

We left the Expo having made many new friends and having had the satisfaction of giving families a way of connecting with nature and a better understanding of animal intelligence and abilities.