The Beginning.

I'm in the process of writing a book, (which I can only write on weekends...) and I thought I'd share the very beginning of it. It's about the 3 horses I learned to ride on. So enjoy...

                                                     Licorice 

I learned how to ride on Licorice. He was a black Morgan pony, with the sweetest face. He had a white stripe down his nose and two white socks on his back feet. Being a Morgan, he was fairly short. That horse was probably the easiest horse to ride. He jumped anything, had smooth gaits, and listened very well. I really loved that guy. I learned how to groom, tack up, ride, jump…and love. All because of him.

When he started getting really old, Kerri (my riding instructor) retired him. She didn’t think he would make it through the winter, but he did. I think later that year he died. But I was only nine, so I don’t remember.

                                                                  

 

                                                         Indy

Indy was a horse I also learned to ride on. He lived with Licorice. Indy was a tall chestnut Quarter Horse. I think he is why I now love chestnuts so much. I remember one time he bucked and I stayed on—I was so proud! And one time he tripped and completely fell on the ground—I was very worried. Indy loved to jump, and so did I. Kerri would set up courses and I would go around and jump all of them. One day I learned to jump oxers. Oxers are two jumps put together, but with some space between them. I was so excited about it I couldn’t stop telling my teacher about it the next day at school. I also got to jump a 2.5 foot jump bareback on him. That was so much fun!

                                                           Chediski Fire

Chediski was a horse that Kerri started borrowing and training from her good friend. He also replaced Licorice. Chediski was a big ball of fire! He was only 3 at the time. A Quarter horse bay. His trot was not a trot, it was a prance. He did not canter, he ran. At first it was fun, but after a while, I hated riding him. I was always afraid I wasn’t going to be able to stop him. That horse was cute, but he was a major brat. The last time I rode him, it was a cloudy day, and he was already in a strange mood. When it came time to canter, he started off fine but just got faster and faster to where I couldn’t control him anymore. It didn’t help either that Kerri’s dog kept barking at Sky. Finally, as we were coming around a turn, I just slid right off. Got a mouth full of dirt and a huge raspberry on my side. After that incident, we decided it wasn’t safe anymore. I rode one last time on Indy