she was somewhere between 23 and 30.
like any lady, she never disclosed her age.
peaches was my first pony. we got her when i was 3 and even though she went to other families after i was too big for her, she always came back to us.my mother not so secretly hoped she would be around for grandchildren.
and it was my mother with her tonight at her sweet little retirement farm in long island.
she taught me and probably a hundred other little girls how to ride
and more importantly, how to truly love an animal.
if you didnt steer, she went where she wanted, probably home.
if you didnt make her move shed stop and eat grass quite happily
if you didnt pick her hooves facing the right way shed take a bite of your butt for good measure.
if you decided to gallop headlong at a jump that was both set backwards and way too big for a 13 hand pony to jump, shed jump the damn thing. but land and give a good enough buck to send you flying and let you know that was not appropriate.
or maybe thats just me, age five
but i know for sure that if you were one of her many five year old passengers and you happened to be leaning a little too far right, shed shift underneath you to be safe.and peaches' stall was always open, her ears always pricked to listen to child dreams and child pain and child love.
and that chocolate brown coat was as good a pillow as any for a night when that child just couldn't handle home.
peaches passing away made me rethink something i'd said to a friend, ironically, just this morning.
she asked if i would encourage my children (if i have children) to ride, and i said i didn't think so- that it was too difficult to do on a decent level without mortgaging the house and even with money the politics of the show world are so nasty i'm lucky to have escaped with my soul.
but i realized tonight that if theres any means and any will then i'd find a good way to give back what my mother gave to me-
these memories of a best friend, a first love.
RIP my peach
1 comment:
this was so touching.
i have been lucky to have and love animals all my life. horses are the love of my life and i have always dreamed of having one. my favorite children books are often about horses or ponies. ' the little foal ' is a beautifully illustrated children's book, ' my pony ' is a book whose last pages always make me well up with tears- it's about a girl's imaginary horse and how in the end she can always look and see her there waiting. The Black Stallion! and what was that book about the ponies of the island?
i'm rambling, sorry.
what a cutie she was and a long happy life.
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