Andria’s natural riding ability might not have come from her city girl mother, but her love of animals couldn’t have come from anywhere else. In fact, this wonderfully crazy life we lead may not be TOTALLY her fault – we can also blame my father. You see, the whole time I was growing up I was only allowed to have ONE DOG. It wasn’t until high school that I managed to convince him to let me try a hamster! So, my abundance of critters now is just making up for my deprived childhood! Yes, that’s it!! (Pay attention, now, I said abundance, NOT over-abundance!) Looking back I can say we were really blessed, as the dog we got when I was in third grade lived until after Andria was born, even surviving a rattlesnake bite, so we didn’t have a lot of loss to deal with as kids.My aunt and uncle did have horses, and we visited them quite often. We learned not to ask to ride, though, because the standard answer was: “Here’s a brush and a carrot, go play with the horsey. It’s too much trouble to catch them and saddle them”… But I sure wished I could ride.
I even asked about lessons, but the family’s recreational budget was restricted to the things my dad enjoyed – boating when we were younger, then jeeping, camping, back-packing, running and biking. Don’t get me wrong, we had a lot of fun as kids, and since my dad made the money, it’s not unreasonable that he be the one to decide how it was spent. But I sure wished I could ride.
So what does this have to do with parades? I will tell you. I have very strong memories of sitting on the curb watching a parade go by. Well, to be honest, I am sure there were many parades… But there was an absolutely GORGEOUS palomino in that particular parade. I still remember the name of that horse – Champagne Baby. I would have given ANYTHING to be able to be on the horse instead of on the curb… and now, I CAN!
So, I DO!
Scottsdale Saddle Club Drill Team, Parada del Sol
Parada del Sol with the minis 2007
Mesa Regal RV Park Parade - theme Luau
Wickenburg Gold Rush Days Parade
1 comment:
So glad you get to enjoy parades now! I did my first night parade at Christmas-how neat it was! Of course decorating the horses what fun! My hubby just shook his head and said you better not dress up my horse! I did not learn to ride or have the chance until I was in my early 20s. But what a blessing to have horses-they are the best therapy! I can honsently say I am horse crazy and loving it!
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