Dear Reader,
I love the south! I love the heritage, the graciousness
and even the food! And, I don't remember a time that I didn't absolutely
love horses with every fiber of my being. I fully admitt it's a disease
of sorts. Despite some broken bones, standing out in horrible weather,
extremely undesirable chores, the monetary burden, flies (their very own
catagory), rain rot, thrush, an uncanny ability to injure themselves,
an insatiable desire to consume the very last sprig of grass, the last
tidbit of grain and a rather annoying habit of wasting enormous amounts
of hay that required Herculean physical effort, gallons of sweat and copious
amounts of Benedryl to aquire ... my love does not fade. In my household
the bug has bitten four out of the five of us. Even the oldest boy can
and does ride, he feeds, he waters, he brushes and he does it without
complaining. Even he, doesn't dislike the horses ... he just doesn't like
them as much as the rest of us! So combine my love of all things southern
... a glass of sweet tea, a porch swing, a prize winning tomato in the
heat of summer, a Bellamy Brothers song, pick up trucks, frog giggin'
(ok, not really frog giggin'), eating dinner at lunch and supper at dinner,
with my inexplicable love for the most graceful, powerful, wonderous animal
on four legs and what do you get? You get a magazine that is a mish-mash
of all that and inbetween. You get to find out about other people like
me. I like to learn about other people with these same aflictions. My
idea of a good time is to cook a big ol dinner for my best friends be
they near or far. In bad weather we will sit inside and wish we were outside.
In good weather we will eat and retire to the deck where we'll swap stories
and laugh til our bellies hurt. We might wonder out to the paddock to
be greeted by the softest of nickers and the nuzzling of whisker laden
muzzles looking for a peppermint or just a rub. I love to pack a picnic
and saddle up and ride out to nowhere. Bein' with horses isn't always
the stuff dreams are made of ... but when the chores are done and your
legs are just a little sore from the ride, you've had a good day! Horses
aren't a hobby ... if you own them, they are your life. It doesn't matter
who you are or what you do. Even if you are stinkin' rich or dirt floor
poor you'll feel better for laying your hands on their sleek necks. They
are the ultimate equalizers, nature's best therapy and better soul food
than maccaroni and cheese!
More about me, if you can stand it ...
I was raised in Cumming, GA by my parents Link & Connie
Helmandollar. My first horse was named "Snoopy", he wasn't real.
He was one of those horses on springs. I was five and I rode the hair
slap off of him (well, if he'd had any hair ... it would have been gone).
My love affair with the horse continued in drawings, endless subscriptions
to "Young Rider" and pointless memberships to youth horse associations.
My Dad would add to my tortured world of horselessness by always telling
me "we are going to see a man about a horse" whenever we'd take
an afternoon drive. Then one day when I was 11, he said we are going to
see a "lady" about a horse and I knew something was up! Through
a close friend of our family I was introduced to Carmen Stuart, the mother
of two completely "unbitten" sons. They prefered bicycles to
horses! Silly boys!! Carmen owned three horses. A chestnut thoroughbred
mare called Aime', Aime's colt Noah, who was later renamed Ted and my
first real horse with no springs attached "Topaz". Bar Topaz
to be exact. She was a white Appaloosa with buckskin colored spots, black
points to match - no mane and not much of a tail. I don't think it mattered
in the least what she looked like. She was my Pegasus! We flew too, all
over Carmen's pasture. Over the creeks, over the log jumps. My life was
a song! I learned just enough about riding to be quite dangerous. I learned
Dressage whether I liked it or not (thanks Carmen!!), at the time I most
certainly did not! Now I wish I knew more. I wanted to jump the moon!
For about three, close to four years I rode at every opportunity. I showed
a bit and formed a foundation for what would be a life long passion. As
middle school turned into High School I was less interested in horses
and Carmen needed to sell Topaz. I'd outgrown my show clothes and liked
looking at boys at least as much as I did horses. Still, I rode whenever
the opportunity presented itself. I knew one day I'd have my own horses.
About the time that Wade was born, in 1997 I started riding a lot with
my friend Kim. She had several horses ... and now she has many many more!
lol When a writing assignment at the paper I worked for took me out to
a local horse rescue ... well, my horse disease which had been somewhat
contained was now off and galloping. In 1998 I met Kent and we married
in 1999. Shortly after we got married he received a small inheritance
- guess what we bought? Two gorgeous creatures! Patch and Tosca ... my
first (owned by me) horses. Today we have four horses, three kids and
two dogs. I am looking forward to riding Terra this spring and summer
and teaching my daughter Sylvi (8) the finer points of English riding.
One of my best friends will be working with her on western riding. Wyatt
is only 5 and will have fun in some lead line classes and will start riding
all by himself this spring. Wade will be showing Terra in some halter
classes in some Appy shows over the next couple years. Maybe he will even
ride?? Who knows??
!
My friend Carmen doesn't have horses anymore but she does
raise birds of several types, so if you are in the market for a winged
friend visit her site at http://brightwoodaviary.com/
|
|
