After Buck had gone from my life, there was another wonderful horse to come along. He was a beautiful yellow color with a white mane & tail. His name was "Rocky" and he belonged to another long-time friend of my mom's.
When it was time to begin first grade, there were so many of us at that age, that the Elementary School chose to have half-day school. My time to go to school was in the morning. It was still a long walk down that lane, past where Buck had lived, down the long hill to the bus stop. I was a little older and did much better than when I was 4 or so.
One day, I was walking home after a long 4 hours at school and saw some hoofprints on the gravel road. HOOFPRINTS? That meant a horse had been there for sure. I followed along as they took me further up the lane and turned into my house.
Oh wow! A horse had been at my house. Who was this horse? What did it look like? Who owned it and ridden it to My House?? Who did this while I was at school??? I was so excited.
I ran as fast as I could up the hill to our house, dashed inside, and asked my mom "WHO rode the Horse here???"
''It was my friend, Martha, Kristine , you remember meeting her once?''
I hadn't a clue that my mom's friend actually owned a HORSE!! I had to think about this so I got changed into 'play clothes' ( those are the clothes that are too worn out to use for anything else.) and dashed outside to see just where the Horse had been. It had been tied to the giant oak tree and I could see where it had nipped off some of the leaves. I squatted down and put my hand open wide inside his hoof print. That was some kind of Big hoof print to me. I followed those tracks where that horse had walked going back home. Once they got into the woods, I couldn't see the hoof prints any longer. Turning around and sad at having missed a chance to see a horse, I walked home.
One Saturday morning I had been outside playing with some of the neighbors and I stopped.
"Listen!" I whispered.
Everyone stopped still while I listened. In the distance, I heard that flinty sound of steel hitting stone... a Horse was coming. To heck with playing - there was a horse on its way up the lane. I ran down a path that led to a place down the lane and looked to see if the horse was in sight. No, not yet, but I could hear it coming closer.
All of a sudden, around the corner, came the most beautiful animal my little eyes had ever seen. He was the color of a sunset over the river, tall with a long white mane and tail as white as snow. Oh myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy- he took my breath away as I watched him come up the hill to our house. Sitting down on a big rock, it was all I could do not to cry.
The lady rode her horse up to our yard and stopped him. Well, don't you know I was already there to meet her. That horse was as big as a giant building and just shimmering in gold... Words failed me as I stood there staring.
" I can tell you are a horse person too, aren't you?" the lady asked as she dismounted. She slipped a 'head thing' ( I learned soon that it was called a halter) on her horse and tied him to that same oak tree. She asked me who I was and I finally found words to speak.
"I'm Kristine and I live here- who are you?"
She smiled and told me her name was Martha, that my mom and she had been friends since high school.
We walked to the house together, me chattering on about her beautiful horse and she told me his name. " Rocky".
Long ago, Martha had owned some racing horses, one time, she and a horse were injured. The doctors told her she'd not be able to ride again, but she was tough and proved them wrong. No more racing horses but a nice, easy-going fellow named Rocky. She told me that her horse was very kind but if I wasn't careful he would step on my toes. I had to stay a safe distance away if that was alright with me.
While my mom and Martha visited, I was outside with Rocky. Oh, his feet were huge and when he stomped one to shoo a fly away, it was as though the ground shook. Rocky also had a white ystripe down his nose similar to Buck. He had those same big brown eyes letting me know how gentle he was. He snorted which made me jump- I had no idea horses blew their noses! Then I laughed at him when he saw me jump. He said that all horses could do that - could I? Nooooooooo- I didn't think people could make that noise with their noses. We both chuckled together over that.
I got to see Rocky a few times after that but the one visit I remember the most was the day I actually got to Sit On Him. I was so high up, it was a little frightening but I didn't let anyone know. At least I don't think I did. His saddle was small and his back was so very wide, that I thought if he moved, I'd not ever slip off. Martha was happy to learn that her friend's daughter was horse crazy like she was. I remember her grinning towards my mom and saying
"Liisa, you'd better start saving for a horse now, because this little girl will need one in her life".
Little did Martha know how true that was and that was a dream of mine... and you know what?
That dream I had way back then came true.
This is a photo of Rocky that was given to me by "my friend" Martha. I later learned that he was an American Quarter horse and also registered as a Palomino.
Here is a photo I have from 1959..it is well-loved and used to be in a frame but I've no idea what happened to it.
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