How Lucky Can a Little Girl Get
There was a small riding stable nearby, and I began taking riding lessons at the age of seven. This was in New York, circa the 1950s. I was riding the school horses available for kids and adults to practice on. One year later, I arrived for my usual lesson.
My instructor greeted me with the following news. She rescued a small dapple grey pony hunter. He was in dreadful condition. “He needs a lot of care, and he’s yours. See what you can do with him, and by the way, nobody else can ride him.” He was a young gelding with a sweet disposition, and I named him Misty. It didn’t take long for a bond to develop. Wherever I went, there was Misty. He was my shadow. He understood me as much as I did him.
I was at the barn every afternoon. Slowly, we began to practice our groundwork. Then came my introduction to fences, and the rest is history! The thrill of jumping is something difficult to describe—you either love it or not, and I loved it! The natural ability to ride a horse at my young age with quiet hands was a gift. He responded to my verbal cues and body language.
I was ten years old when we were ready to enter our first show. I remember it well. It was a maiden over fences class for youngsters. We had a clean round; no rails down. The judge had made his decision, turned his back to mark his book, and proceeded to get the blue ribbon. The moment he looked away, we finished our last fence, and I softly said, “Whoa.” Misty stopped on a dime, and I fell off! I was on my feet in a split second as the judge walked towards us with our blue ribbon. Talk about luck!
—Lesley💞
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| One thing that hasn’t changed is Heels Down! |
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| Riding attire sure has changed since the 1950s! |
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I had a Quarterhorse/Tennesseae Walker cross who loved to jump (he was a retired barrel racer that I turned into a trail horse). He loved to jump streams, trees lying on the trail, basically anything that could be jumped. I rode him bareback a lot and we used to scare the heck out of my mum, jumping the spring that ran through his pasture -- bareback.
ReplyDeleteWeavingwoman, thank you for reading and sharing your story. I can understand why your mum would be scared.
DeleteWell, Lesley, it seems a little girl can get really lucky... as you did!! Another wonderful story on the lesley osborn blog! ⭐
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gary. Indeed I did. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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