Girls and Their Horses

What is it about girls and horses?  My sister and I were both horse-mad when we were growing up, praying for sunny weather on a Saturday so we could rent some horses and go riding.  Then when my daughter came along she also loved horses and spent countless hours grooming her horse and practicing for 4-H shows. And now one of my granddaughters is “horsey” as well.   There must be something genetic involved. I still love horses so here  is my story, in pictures, with some horses I enjoyed along the way…….

Our family often vacationed at the beach and this was wonderful for me because (yep) there were horses to ride on the sand.  As you can see in the picture I was far to young for this activity but still got to sit on the horse which was almost as good at the age of three and your big brother can hold the reins for safety.

Another vacation we took several times was to Loon Lake in British Columbia where we stayed in log cabins and once in a a big log lodge.  My dad and brother would fish from morning till night and during the week would spend at least one day packing in to another lake called “High Hume” where the fishing was extra special great.  But who cared?  There were horses to be petted and looked at and even ridden a little bit.  I wasn’t yet old enough to ride on my own but did have the privilege of sitting on the horses dressed in my cowgirl shirt and vest and walking the horse around the cabins.  What could be better?

Caption:  A bunch of us on Betsey and Bear and a couple of other horses. That’s my sister Pat  on the far left.

The left hand picture is typical… me on a horse.  The picture on the right is the owner of the horses at Loon Lake, with his own horse and dog. Back of the picture says “Snoopy on Sugar’s back” I still remember how exciting it was to see that dog leap up on the saddle.

My cousin Ralph’s family had a horse named “Roper” and that’s Ralph and my other cousin Gene going for a ride.  The picture on the right was taken at the Ellensburg (Washington) Rodeo…my Mother was very nervous that I was aboard this high-spirited horse.

Horses didn’t even have to be real for me to love them!  Here I am with my “stuffed” horse, probably when I was about nine or ten years old.

So there you have it, my trip down memory lane as closely attached to horses as possible. Come to think of it a nice trail ride in the woods sounds pretty good right now.

Written for the Carnival of Genealogy  ”Pony Tracks” August 13, 2009.

Susan J. Edminster, Granite Falls, Washington,  All rights reserved.   Pictures are the sole property of Susan J. Edminster

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