ESCONDIDO, Calif. — Horses have many talents but a dancing miniature horse doing 'The Hustle' may just be a first.
In this Zevely Zone, I went to Escondido to meet 'Dancing GiGi'. For Laura Van Eyck it was love at first sight when she first spotted her miniature horse. "I saw her and she saw me and she parted the herd to get to me and I said 'I am taking this horse home,'" said Laura.
We met them on a dirt dance floor next to horse corrals at Laura's Escondido Ranchita. This was the first time in my life I watched a horse do 'The Hustle'. GiGi may be a miniature, but she's got some big-time moves.
"She's amazing," said Laura. "From the day I met her, I knew she was extraordinary." Eight years ago, Laura was diagnosed with a terminal cancer called Multiple Myeloma.
If you think dancing in a pasture with her friends made Laura feel better, you should been there on the day GiGi joined in.
"She comes in right where she needs to be, she doesn't start at the beginning she starts on the steps you're on and we said 'okay, we have a dancing horse,'" said Laura.
GiGi became Dancing GiGi and she's not a one-trick pony. "Electric slide?" asked Laura while changing the music.
That's right, next up came a 'Boot Scoot Boogie', something Laura's friend Jennifer was there to witness. "We started dancing a couple of times on our own and she'll walk right up to us and join in on the fun," said Jennifer Hutchinson.
Catching my breath between songs, I made a cowboy confession. "Have I mentioned I am a horrible line dancer?" I said. "I've got two left hooves over here."
When in doubt, just follow the horse with the magic moves. "That's why I stood in the back," I laughed.
Laura was expected to live three to five years, but eight years later, looks who is still on the dance floor. "I am hard to kill for one and it's by the grace of god I'm here. He has apparently found a purpose for me. That's what it really comes down to for me because if he didn't want me here I'd be gone," said Laura who thinks GiGi might be a wonderful service animal.
If Dancing GiGi can help Laura beat cancer, just think what the song Rubberband Man and her Cupid Shuffle could do for you. If you'd like to line dance with Dancing GiGi, she's got her own website. For more information on the dancing horse, visit her YouTube channel.