This is a page especially for my dear friend, Martha. She died a few years ago from Cancer; leaving her Chincoteague pony, B.B. in my care. Her son now is BB's owner but I do all the care for the pony. I met Martha way back when I was in first grade. She was a good friend of my mother's back then, and would ride her horse thru the forest to visit her. After she had gone, I can remember sitting in the dirt where she had tied her horse when she was visiting. Putting my hand in the hoofprints he had left behind I could almost Feel the horses' presence still. I was always at school when Martha rode over to visit my mom, so I missed being able to breathe in that wonderful horse scent. I was terribly horse crazy even back then.
One day, after many years had passed and I was married, with my own horse farm, I heard a knock on my front door. There was a small older woman who asked if I had a " calm, slow horse " for her to learn to ride ? Well, of course I did and we walked slowly to the barn to meet the horses. As we were walking along, I kept thinking "how do I know this woman??" It turned out to be my mom's long time friend, Martha ! I knew SHE had been quite the horsewoman back when she was younger, so I didn't embarrass her by treating her as a beginner, even though she wanted to "take lessons". It turned out she simply wanted to ride Again after lo' the many years. So ride, we did. She loved it and when it was to hard for her, we drove. She drove my Percheron mare, Lynda, and did a super job !
Eventually she and her son drove to Chincoteague to buy a foal at Pony Penning Day one July weekend. She did, and a few days later, I met " Beach Boy"- pure pony and only 3 months old. Between the three of us, Martha, me and her son, we got BB trained to lead, then to ground drive and eventually as a great little driving pony ! He's still living here and some days I could Swear Martha is here, watching us work around the farm. Martha was something else to be around and she had forgotten more about horses than I shall ever learn.
Below is a picture of Martha and her pony when they lived in Maryland.
When I heard Templeton Thompsons' new song about an older woman who had grown to old to ride any longer and was in a nursing home , I thought of Martha. She grew old and could no longer ride, but she remembered those rides. The stories she told me during my visits to her farm in Maryland were fantastic.
So here's to older women who still ride and to those who remember them......
thanks Martha, I learned a lot from you !
(((((((((Hugs))))))))))))