A few "Rodeos"

   There were several other horses on the farm at Twin Bridges that were not included in the Dude String.  They consisted of older animals the were offspring of the Arabian Stallion and a couple of others that had been started and then left out to pasture.  With the two men that helped on weekends, I had assistance to get these horses going again and some went up for sale and were sold.  Two of these were Benji and Tara.   I don't remember much of Benji except a young man came out to try her, paid his money and left on her down the road.  Benji and Tara were both off an older mare called Bunny and I called her next filly Spook. Most of Bunny's offspring sported the same large “dot” on their foreheads.

   I especially enjoyed riding Tara.  Again, she was a liver-chestnut, and to this day I like that colour.  Tara was a nice and smooth horse to ride and I don't remember having much trouble with her at all.  I was rapidly becoming a believer in bloodlines, as the half-Arabian horses seemed so much more intelligent and willing to learn, with none of the stubbornness of the Grade horses.  The two men and I had a lot of good rides on the “green” (young and inexperienced) horses. It was never boring.  Doug eventually became so attached to Tara he bought her and Ken seemed to be very attached to the Blue as well.

  Pops was not above getting in on the “training” of some of these horses and in the dark of night once appeared outside my bedroom window riding Tara!  It was late and I had been asleep for some time, when a shout awoke me.  When I looked outside I thought I must still be sleeping and this had to be a dream!  In the  black night with only the yard light to see by, and with fog swirling around them, stood a sweating Tara with Pops on her back.  Each expulsion of air from the mares nostrils were geysers of smoke, making me think of Puff the Magic Dragon!  With a comment to me of 'Thought I couldn't do it eh?”, Pops swung the mare around and at a dead run, jumped the little picket fence surrounding the front yard!  I was dressed in record time and out to the barn just as he clattered up and decided his evening of drinking and riding was over.  It was 2:30 in the morning and I put a blanket on the mare and walked her dry, once again wondering at this crazy place that I had come to live.  The animals were great but I had to wonder about the people sometimes.

Later Pops had another little night riding episode with “The Blue”.  The blue was what is called a blue roan colour.  His coat was predominately black with a heavy mix of grey or white hairs.  This tall gelding was a different story to train and did not take to being ridden easily.  At one time or another “The Blue” had dumped everyone off and he got serious about it!  On another night when once again Pops had had his fill of “brown-bottle” courage, (beer), he decided to ride the blue.  Pops knew many ways to get the job done from the “old ways and days”.  Once he had “The Blue” in the barn he attached a rope to one hind foot and threaded this rope up through the swells in the saddle.  I stood on the ground trying to dissuade Pops from the folly of doing this ride.  But you can't really reason with a drunk and there was no doubt that was Pops' condition.  He rode many a fancy manoeuvre and the rope trick seemed to be working......until that is......the rope slipped up the horses leg and lost its leverage for Pops.  Suddenly “The Blue” went to bucking and it was quite a rodeo!  I think Pops may have lasted eight seconds but no one was tracking time.  When Pops “met Mother Earth” it was with a bone breaking jar.  “The Blue” left the country, jumping a fence and running off on the Indian Reserve.  Pops, although very sore made his way to the house with apparently no broken bones.  I looked for the horse for a time, but when he didn't return I too went to bed.  In the morning, Blue was waiting at the gate between the Reserve and our farm, still all tacked up. 

   I once again started working with and lunging this horse in an attempt to start him all over again.  We seemed to be getting along quite well, then one day, when I was riding him, he wanted to go left and I wanted to go right.  Well didn't the poop hit the fan and right smartly!!  This 16 hand horse  went bucking along the lane towards the “Dude-gate” over which was an arch!  Not only was he bucking pretty hard he was screaming as he did it!  That really unnerved me and I sure didn't make no eight seconds!!  As we neared the arch I did not know how we would fit through. I did an all-time no-no and leaned forward, thereby losing any advantage or hope of starying on.  Having made it through the arch, I now found myself airborne.  Ooh, I knew it was going to hurt when I landed and it did!  I had a metal lighter the size of  todays' Bic inside my back pocket and when I came down landed right on that lighter and was thereafter effectively “branded” on my left buttock cheek. I didn't like stopping at this point with this horse and I remember I did lunge him some more and got on him etc. But my nerves were shot and the last place I wanted to be was up on him! Luckily, I was booked for a holiday in B.C about then .And I was glad to go!

   While I was away, Pops decided to help me with “The Blue” and took to riding him steadily.  Pops' back had been a mass of blue bruise after his ride "under the influence" and to my knowledge Pops remained sober on any future rides with this horse.  We were getting the job done anyway and by spring there were only a few two year olds to look forward to.