We got our horses when I was 10. We moved to the country, and Dad purchased two horses from his brother. Half brother and sister, they had an Appaloosa sire. Princess’s mother was a thoroughbred, and Waco’s mother was a Welsh.
In private school stables, you’ll often find thoroughbreds for the more modern riders. These horses are used in athletic horse outcomes such as dressage and jumping, but also for training the emerging rider. The stables will be full of horses that will do the right thing if the rider tells them to. In this style, the riders can be measured on their horsemanship.
I’m happy my sisters and I weren’t measured. Princess had been, in Texan terms, “green broke†meaning that she had been ridden once or twice and had not bucked, so she was prompt for 10 year old girls to ride. Waco had never been ridden. In fact, Dad hired a professional cowboy to “break†Waco, and Waco promptly put the man in the hospital. The next week, my 5 year old sister was riding him bareback in the pasture. Yes, she coaxed him over to the fence and told him to stand still, then climbed onto his back. She gave him a good kick and said, in good cowboy terms, “Giddyup!†and Waco took off in a clean foxtrot. Anyone else who tried that got raked off on the fence.
As girls who had never ridden horses, with horses that had never been ridden, we were a perfect team. We would saddle the horses and ride down the highway to the “little store†and get a Slurpee. Then, we’d circle around the country club to Halliburton Oil Company, where Dad worked in the garage. He would buy us a coke. We had to drink it there, to leave the empty for returns. Then, we’d ride back home â€" an 11 mile round trip, all along highways.
I had dreams of barrel racing. And jumping. Waco was an impressive athlete. His ears would prick forward as he came the barrels, and as I reined him to turn, he dropped his inside shoulder and pivoted around the barrel like a ballerina. It was exciting! We ran the course a few times, then he got bored, lay down, and would never do it again. Princess was an athlete, too. She could trot with her front feet and gallop with her back feet â€" at the same time.
As a child, I had the incredible experience of mounting and controlling a huge, half-wild beast in what I now realize was possibly dangerous situations. I rode all through high school, too, even after I got my own car. The confidence and memories I acquired during that time have been with me my whole life. Children and their horses form bonds that are never imperfect.
Author Resource:
For more information about boarding schools with horse programs, check out Milo Academy and Milo Academy Horse Program .
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