Saturday, November 21, 2009

SATURDAY MORNINGS


Have you ever thought back to Saturday mornings when you still lived at home as a kid? Do you remember what you did on Saturday mornings. I can remember that Friday night was my favorite because it meant I didn't have to go back to school for 2 whole days.

And I think I remember my Saturdays..at least what was important to me...I seem to remember I had some type of chores to do...boy that sounds like an outdated phrase! I think it was ironing or something like that and most likely straightening and cleaning my bedroom. I always had to share the bedroom with my sister so it was a big event.

But the rest of the day I can remember like it was yesterday........

The moment I could get away I ran across the road, down through the neighbors orchard and arrived at the small barn near the river that held the important bridle and a can of grain. But my adventure was just beginning.

Another distance of about a 1/2 mile I would come to a clearing where I could see the 3 magnificent horses as they grazed quietly in the meadow. Now the adventure began.
I am sure they grew accustomed to this Saturday ritual but the routine rarely changed. I approached them with the bridle hung over my shoulder in hopes that just maybe this time they wouldn't see it. I had to make sure the bucket had plenty of grain as they knew how to play this game very well.

They would see me coming and begin to wander just far enough ahead of me to keep themselves out of reach. This game of tag could go on for an hour with neither of us willing to give up.

I suppose they would finally figure that once again I was not giving up as they eventually came to a stop an waited for me to approach. And my horse of choice was usually "Flicka" as he was truly a joy to ride. And in those days I did not bother to put a saddle on him so we both felt free and happy as the wind blew through our 'manes'.

So as you can see I usually spent more than half of the morning convincing the horses I was really going to ride one of them then the rest of Saturday afternoon spending my time in my own version of Heaven.

Those were the days when parents didn't have to worry about their children..our communities were safe and my parents always knew exactly where I was...at the river riding the horses. No, they were not our horses: I had wonderful neighbors who allowed me to ride the horses anytime I wanted. And believe me, if I could have slept in that barn I certainly would have!

My parents always said I was born being crazy about horses. On any of our vacations I was the one with me face pressed close to the car window in hopes of seeing a beautiful horse somewhere off in an field.

It wasn't until I married that I was blessed with my first horse of my very own! This started me down the road of a life with many different horses and I enjoyed many different types of riding skills with each one. I have been trail riding, barrel racing - and many other 'speed events' that go along with that.

But my favorite was my time spent in the Performance Shows with my horse Dusty. He was a beauty and by far my favorite. He was the only horse that I had that strangers would come up to me and tell me what a beautiful horse I had.

Yes, he was a beauty, his coat shined like a brand new penny and hes eyes were so large, soft and brown. He enjoyed the crowds and even the judges when they came close to him. He was a definite show off as he loved performing in front of the crowd. In his very first performance class he took first place out of 27 horses. And he did seem so proud! I was in shock!!

I do believe he thought he was a dog as he would follow me anywhere...including in the house if I didn't close the door behind me.

We were very bonded souls and I believe that was because he was a birthday present to me..because he was born on my birthday.

So my childhood dreams really did come true and I have enjoyed the love of horses every day of my life.

Tomorrow I will tell you what I did during my summer vacations from school...an amazing life in deed!

2 comments:

Rae said...

What a different kind of post from you! Loved the story and can't wait to hear more.
I've always been afraid of horses. But to get on one and ride through the wind, sounds absolutely wonderful!

Gail Wilson said...

Hi Rae, throughout my life I have found very few things that can match the feeling of freedom on a horse. I guess that's what makes it so wonderful.

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