Moving On

The transition of moving from the Aldingers farm to living with Ed Davidson was not a hard one nor was it as traumatic as leaving Twin Bridges. As a matter of fact it happened so easily that I have no set time in my head of it all. Jude and Edie moved off the farm and eventually up the lake where he built a new sawmill with a new partner. So we no longer saw as much of each other but whenever Jude was in town she usually came by. We continued to have good times at dances and things and at that time there were many dances up the lake that we went to.

Eds log house was not quite finished and there would be no power for three years, but we managed. My horse and dogs came with me of course but Chubby had a hard time adjusting. Ed's mare had a colt at her side and he was the most mischievous thing. The colt was lonely and very bugsy. He delighted in teasing the dogs. Chubby liked to lay on the porch and take life easy by that time but the colt would find him there and start to tease. Chubby simply left and went down the road

 to my brother's place and they would phone and let me know he was 

there. Billy on the other hand took another tack and simply slept in the

back of the truck where the colt could not bother her. Although the place was fenced around the outside that meant the horses were free to roam the entire farm. We parked our trucks on the road.

I continued to work as a waitress at the Hotel and then finally got out of there and went to work for Eric’s Meat Market. The boss Andy was great and one of the best people I have ever worked for.

I became active in the Riding Club and never missed a show. As a matter of fact I was up to my ears in work every year at May Days to help with the show. In the beginning it was a two day event, but we had a lot of good help and it turned into a very good show that a great many people enjoyed spectators and participants as well.

With the growth of our club came Instructors from outside, and I ate up all they had to teach us. Now I fell into being the organizer for these riding clinics we hosted. Often this included putting the Instructor up for the three days or so that she was in town. I jumped at that too as much could be learned from just talking to them. My interest in the gymkhana games flagged and I became much more interested in what I call “Working Classes”. Things like Western Pleasure and the Riding Pattern seemed to make for a better horse whereas the “Games” seemed to excite and make for a hotter horse that was not easily controlled. Many horses that were “gamed” too much became difficult to get into the ring. They knew full well they would be asked for top speed. I always disliked the whips and bats used to get more speed from a horse and often thought some riders used them to excess and the horses didn't seem to go any faster as they were already at max. speed! One class I dearly loved was the Trail Horse Class and I eagerly accepted the challenge of having a horse side-pass or back around obstacles. We never did get a teeter-totter obstacle but we had a bridge and often I would tie balloons on it. Sometimes I added things that even my own horse would not do. I hung a cow hide on a gate one time that Trouble had seen many a time on the fence-but having moved it- it now became a huge bugaboo to him and there was no way he would go near it!

We tried to keep our shows safe and accident free and for many years we did just that! We all wanted to have an enjoyable weekend and for the most part we did! Once our show was finished it was time to get ready for the parade and if there were a lot of costumes I insisted the kids show up on the Friday for a rehearsal, so there were no surprises on the day of the parade. Several times  a horse or pony would simply not tolerate the costume its young owner had cooked up and it was a good idea to try it first.