In 2003, Chicken Soup for the Soul books was going to do a "Horse Lover's" edition and invited the public to submit their stories.
I submitted this to them:
MY HORSE OF A LIFETIME
In almost every little girl’s dreams is the love of a pony. At least my birthday wishes and Christmas dreams were for a horse to call my own. It seemed as though my every waking moment was filled with something horsey – a book, a toy. Every holiday was spent counting how many horses I saw as we traveled down the highway, trying to talk my parents into stopping at every stable that had horses for hire. My whole life seemed to revolve around horses.
In 1980, my wishes and dreams came true. My parents came home from work in April of 1980 and announced to the family that we were moving - once again - but this time it was to an acreage just south of Calgary, Alberta. The next thing out of their mouths shocked me: "Carrie, if you want a horse, start saving!!” I couldn’t believe it, my dreams, wishes and prayers had been answered!
In just under 4 months, I had saved up $500 by babysitting and delivering newspapers. I started looking for my dream horse which had always been to own a black mare. When I finally found her, she wasn't exactly what I had dreamed of – she was a green broke buckskin mare - but to me she was perfect. My parents’ friends, who were accomplished horse people, came with us to look at her and said that we were an excellent match.
We were given a little background information on her - she had been born on a big quarter horse ranch somewhere just south of Calgary. The people I bought her from came across her and her filly in a barn being abused because they were extremely wild, never having been handled before. To save the two horses, they bought them right then and there.
This history shaped our relationship greatly as it took a long time for her to trust anyone. It also gave me some inspiration for her name. My mom asked me what I was going to call her stating that I was lucky to have found her. I think she was pretty lucky to have been rescued I answered. And it hit me “LUCKY” she was and always would be.
When we brought her and her filly home, my parents took my saddle away from me and I had to stay at home in the pasture until I could handle her properly. Catching Lucky was also quite the experience. She would let me get within three feet of her and then she would trot off. She would then let me walk up to her again only to trot off. Mom used to laugh and say that she was playing “tag” with me and the game has never ended. She also surprised us the following summer with a colt – we never knew she was in foal when we bought her.
Our next four years were spent happily exploring around the countryside - going into town to 7-11 for slurpees, visiting my friends, racing other people who were riding horses but she also loved to race motorcycles too.
Lucky was a very spirited horse but she did manage to surprise us with her sense of her rider’s ability. My nephew, who at the time was 4, could get on her without a saddle or bridle and ride anywhere and she would plod along. My neighbour’s daughter used her for riding lessons and she behaved beautifully. But for anyone with a lot of experience, she was a handful.
Lucky and I rode in the Little Britches Parade in High River. She was always so showy – prancing her way through the parades – especially the one year where we had the Shriner’s Band and little cars in front of us and the Al Shamal pipe band (where they wear the funny shoes) band behind us. That was an interesting ride but very fun.
In 1984, we moved to Moose Jaw, SK and hauled her with us in the back of a half ton with stock racks as she refused to go into a trailer. As I was only allowed to take one horse with me, we sold Lucky’s two babies to great people who owned them for their entire lives.
In Moose Jaw, Lucky was boarded on a farm, but I still managed to ride as often as I could. We traveled through out Moose Jaw in our quest for something interesting to do. Saskatchewan was also the first place that Lucky and I had ever encountered hills to trek over and a river to wade through.
In 1988, I became a mom myself so my riding time dwindled. With a move to Edmonton the same year, Lucky was on the move again. Finding time to ride was hard during that time of my life. I can still remember Melissa’s first ride on Lucky - she was 6 weeks old and in a baby carrier and Lucky was an angel – she must have known that Melissa was up there with me.
In 1992, I married Doyle and soon began his transformation from a city slicker to farm boy. After years of boarding Lucky out, Doyle and I decided to purchase a farm of our own. Lucky was, finally, back where she belonged, in my backyard. I semi-retired Lucky to pasture at age 16, as I was busy having my family but we still enjoyed going for the occasional ride.
At the age of 20, I decided to breed Lucky again. She foaled a nice buckskin colt. I finally got the color I was breeding for but the wrong sex, so I decided to try again and bred her to my girlfriend’s paint stallion. She foaled out a beautiful red roan paint filly. Not quite the right color but wow – what a looker!!
Since then, we have found our dream home and Lucky has again made the transition to a new home. After all the years of relocating in my life – this is it!!
My daughter Melissa now rides Lucky. It absolutely amazes me to watch them. No one else has ever been able to handle her as well as I learned to. But Melissa is definitely my child. My mom says it is amazing to watch Lucky and Melissa. She told me one day that "it is déjà vu - like going back in time to watch you and that horse except now the rider is blond not brunette". After giving Melissa Lucky’s last filly, I feel that life has come full circle and I hope that Melissa and Angel will enjoy the same life long love that Lucky and I have had. Even the ages are the same - Lucky was 4 and I was 12 when we began our journey. Angel was 4 and Melissa was 13 at the time.
And now the next generation has arrived. Angel has made Lucky a grandma. Lucky is now 27 and still going strong.
I love my dear old horse and will always consider her "MY HORSE OF A LIFETIME". Others horses may come and go from my life but none of them will ever mean so much to the "horse crazy little girl" that I was and still am.
