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When I was a child, my family lived in the town of Princeton, Indiana. My Dad raised English Setters and Pointers and did field trials with them. His horse lived in our garage…must not have had zoning laws back then. Dad was putting me on Tony when I was six months old. My first horse was a Welsh pony named Prince then a Palomino mare named Dutchess. I was, however, always “too little” to ride on my own, so I seldom got to ride. (Not to mention that my Mother got hysterical if I got close to a horse.) We kept those horses at the Gibson County Fairgrounds with the pacers and trotters. I loved those old sulky trainers and black grooms. They used to let me pack the hooves with clay and rub the legs with Absorbine. To this day I love the smell of Absorbine. (Much later in life an elderly trainer befriended me and let me take his trotter around the State Fair track. What a thrill. A childhood dream come true.)
After a while my father got tired of getting up at 4:30 am to go muck stalls and feed, so he sold my pony and Palomino! Naturally, I ran away from home (I was probably about 8). Eventually, (about 8 hours) I had to come back. I didn’t speak to my father for a week. It nearly killed him.
My sister had a 5 gaited saddle bred who I was not allowed to ride because, again, I was too little. Funny thing, she did not even care about horses, and I lived and died for them.
The surest way to get me to do something is to tell me I can’t, so I grew up to own a horse farm with a white rail fence and my very own boarding training facility called Spring Hollow. Mike Faris was our trainer and did a fine job. We filled up a whole aisle at the all Arab show. Mike also took our Morgan, “Shaker’s Victor” on to many blue ribbons.
In medical school I had an Arab gelding named Stormy, but I was working two jobs to support him, so I had to sell him to pay my back stable bills. Then I had Liz Anderson’s wonderful Arab park horse “Zerez”. Zerez was a pussy cat, and I loved him dearly. My daughter, Stephanie, rode Jewel, a Morgan mare, in equitation events. When she went off to college I took over Jewel. I rode her so much I actually developed blisters on my b____! Jewel had a foal named Lilly who still teaches children to ride at Kaufman Stables. I now have my dream horse, a Morgan named Madison My Madison. Madison has just the right amount of spunk for an old lady like me. I also have an Egyptian Arab filly who I think will turn out to be a good trail and parade horse…she practically climbs on the tractor with me out in the field. The third horse in our pasture is Tobi (for Tobiano) a spotted saddle horse/ Tennessee Walker. Tobi is young, but very well trained and very gentle. The grandkids ride him.
I have breathed, lived, and loved horses for as long as I can remember. Horse poop, leather, horse coat all smell like an expensive perfume to me. I haven’t been able to ride much the past couple of years for health and injury reasons. I’m ready to get back in the saddle and get those thigh muscles all toned up again. My goal is to do a perfect mount -- without a stepstool.
I’m really looking forward to riding with everyone. I have ridden with Mary, Carol, Penny, and Becky O and Martha Tynan lived behind and across the road from Spring Hollow. I rode with Cheryl Miller at Kaufman Stables. In my opinion, Leah Kaufman was one of the greatest riding instructors ever.
I have a granddaughter named Leah, and so far she loves to come to Grandma’s and ride with her Mommy, just like her Mommy rode with me almost from birth. Life comes full circle. I have another daughter who rides very well, but as an adult has no interest in riding. I think I might have had her on with me one too many times….I remember being perched on a cliff with her on the saddle in front of me, and she turned around and looked up at me and said “Are we gonna be scared yet?” |
