My heart is pounding as I feel the energy and power of the animal beneath me. My fingers are intertwined with the thick black mane and I am holding on with all my might. We move as one..flying over the fields, leaping over fences.
“Colleen, would you like a cheese sandwich?” my mother’s voice from the front seat of the car bursts my day dream bubble. “Colleen, are you hungry?” , she repeats, and I am snatched back into reality, once more staring out the window of our 1961 Chevy, sharing the backseat with my sisters, as we drive across the Canadian prairies.
As far back as I can remember I have always been enthralled and fascinated with the majestic creature that is a horse. Being a city girl, my real life encounters with actual horses were few .. but my drawings where filled with their likenesses, my book shelf filled with their stories, and my day dreams filled with their presence.
The summers offered me a tiny window into my aspirations. Every summer we three girls spent a week at my aunts farm just outside of Binscarth, Manitoba, while my parents enjoyed a free week with no kids. What a gift this must have been for our parents.. what a gift it was for three city bred girls. Here we ran free amongst the chickens, geese, and cows. And wonder of wonders.. they had a HORSE.
Her name was Silver. She was a 20 year old draft horse that worked hard in the fields. But for a week every summer .. she was mine. Seen through my young girl’s eyes, she was a true beauty.. all black with a white blaze. I fleetingly remember wondering how she ever got her name.
For one week every summer, my dreams became my reality. Immediately on waving good bye to Mom and Dad, I would change my clothes and race to the back of the barn. Here was the gate .. the entrance to the pasture surrounded by fences made of a combination of barbed wire and wood. I’d lean against the fence scanning the horizon to see if my horse was nearby. My cousin, Monty, would eventually come around the side of the barn, with a bridle in his hand.
“Come on.. lets go find Silver”, he would say, and off we would go, searching the fields for my great black horse. Once found, my cousin would lift me onto her back and we would head back to the barn. For one whole week, every summer, I lived my dreams.
The years pasted, bringing change. My aunt and uncle sold their farm and retired. My aunt assured me that they had found a good home for old Silver. I hope that was true for she gave life to a young girls yearnings and deserved a good long life of her own.
Life went on, as it always does. My days became consumed with my own family and work. My passion for horses remained quietly tucked away. Then one day, while casually reading the newspaper, I noticed an advertisement for horseback riding lessons. Could I .. should I? After thinking about it for days, I phoned to inquire about adult lessons. Yes.. they did offer adult classes. Yes.. a beginners class would be starting in a couple of weeks. Oh my God.. should I? The lessons were pricey.. but the ranch was close by.. only a 10 minute drive from my home. How could I not. I phoned back to enroll.
And this is how I found myself, at the age of 49, living my life long dream of learning to ride. I will always remember the energy I felt the first time I walked through the barn door to attend my first lesson. The sweet smell of straw and horses filled my nostrils. I breathed deeply.. loving the aroma.. feeling an excitement that I had not felt in years. I could hear horses neighing as they heard me approach. I was here. I was actually doing this. I was in heaven. Afterwards, on the ride home, I found myself overcome with emotion. As I drove towards Winnipeg, tears filled my eyes.. I felt such joy!
I continued to take lessons for three years and eventually obtained my level 5 horsemanship. As the classes advanced, the number of adults dwindled. Soon the majority of my class mates were 15 year old girls, crazy in love with horses. For 2 hours every week I shed 35 years and became one of them, chasing through the fields to catch my horse, leading them back into the barn, grooming them and then saddling them in preparation for our class.
Currently I am no longer taking lessons but I continue to enjoy riding when given the opportunity. Just driving up to the barn and breathing in that horsey smell causes my heart to beat faster. Climbing into a saddle causes my spirit to soar. The elation I feel is indescribable. It is a place I feel I belong.
If you have a passion or a dream I hope you follow it and partake of it, for doing so will free your soul and bring immeasurable joy.
He has galloped through young girl’s dreams, added richness to grown women’s lives, and served men in war and strife. ~Toni Robinson
