Recently, some friends and I were sharing stories about the various horses we’ve worked with in our lives and the things we’ve learned from them. Later, my buddy told me I should start writing about all those experiences and the things I learned from them. In these blog posts, I hope to share with the readers about some of the incredible horses that have helped me on my horsemanship journey.
Like many of you, I didn’t grow up in a horse-riding family. The closest I got was watching The Lone Ranger or some other black and white western depicting cowboys when I was a kid. Those shows and movies planted seeds that never really went away.
Living in town, there weren’t a lot of opportunities to ride horses until I was around 14 or 15 years old. We had a friend who asked if I needed a summer job. It would be cleaning up and maintaining their property, basically the normal chore kinds of things that many kids do. She had horses, and that’s where it really all started for me. At the end of the week, when everything was finished, she helped me learn to ride.
It started out on an old, “been there, done that” Palomino named Scotch. He was so patient with this green kid. I owe a lot to that horse and my friend, Glenda. (To this day, I’m so grateful for her and still call her my horse mom.) Scotch got me ready for Bookie, a big John Wayne-looking horse who was full of go. It was those two horses who really started that seed, which was planted when I was much younger, to finally sprout and grow.
Like so many other kids, I had some rough things happen to me. They weren’t easy to get through, but those horses didn’t care. They knew what I needed to help me get through. I think that’s why I have such a want, actually a need, to help troubled horses and folks with their confidence issues. I know what it feels like to be in that same spot.
Those couple of summers working at Dry Creek Acres were the catalyst and beginning of what has turned into an over thirty-year career helping so many people and their horses. I think that’s why one of my favorite quotes, attributed by many to Winston Churchill, “There’s something about the outside of a horse that’s good for the inside of a man” resonates with me. I think, or at least hope, that most folks who read this can relate.