HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOMBRA!

The old white horse is the end of all misfortune. Irish proverb

Today is Sombra's eighteenth birthday! (only eighteen, girl! I certainly was not refering to YOU as an old white horse!) She was MY birthday gift about fourteen years ago; she was four, and I was... Oh, nevermind! She was my first horse and I was BORN wanting a horse!

I have a sketchy memory a being three or four years old. I was watching Colonel Christopher (my favorite tv show) and there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find a man with an adorably decked-out paint pony standing on our sidewalk. I remember thinking (isn't it obvious?) that the pony must be for me! Alas, he was only offering western photo portraits for children, complete with hat, chaps, vest, AND pony, selling his wares door-to-door. Of course I had my picture made (adorable!) , but then the man (and pony!) had to move on... much to my dismay!

When I was a little older, I would go to the grocery store with my Mom and sit on the "quarter" horse the whole time she shopped. If another child came along and wanted to ride, I would reluctantly get off and give them a turn; but stand by jealously waiting to reclaim my steed! He was black - with a black saddle, black bridle, four white socks, and a blaze. And Blaze was his name. I was genuinely attatched to him and would very much look forward to going to the store to see him. When it was time to go, I would slide off his back (obediently, right Ma?) and give him a big kiss on the nose!

Then there was CoCo, a a shaggy bay pony we somehow inherited, but he was pretty wild and we really didn't have a place to keep him. I don't remember the details, ( probably repressed them :) but after a short time, my parents ended up having to find him another home.

So back to Sombra, my first real horse. She's very gentle, well-mannered, and a real sweetheart. She's also a big chicken, nervous under saddle, and accident prone. I don't ride her very often because Tango is so much better of a riding horse, but she's still my baby! Happy Birthday Sombra, with many happy returns! What's that? A bag of carrots? You got it! Love, RED