Who among us has not as a child asked Santa Clause to bring us a pony on Christmas day?
August 23, 2011
So, as I contemplate writing my very first blog (who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks!! Please, don't comment on that.), I thought "well where to begin?"
How do we get into horses, and how does this seemingly never-ending obsession begin? Well for me, it apparently started way before I have my first childhood memory. Because, according to my parents I was frantic about horses before I could even walk and talk. For as long as I have had memories, I had always wanted and begged for a horse. I endured years of receiving horse books, barbie horses (there was even the joke about giving me a pile of horse poo and saying that the horse must have run away!!) and the like for Christmas and birthday presents. Finally, when I was 13 my parents finally relented and bought me a thoroughbred ex-race horse as my first horse.
There is the old saying about having horses in the blood. On both sides of my family I have horse people in my family. My father's mother was a keen horse woman who, not only loved horses but was a fine rider as well. And, my mother's father, Jack Clanchy, bred and owned race horses. Grandpa Jack even gave one of his horses to a young an aspiring Colin Hayes as his first race-horse to train. He then went on to spend all of his years trying to breed and own a Melbourne Cup winner. Ahhhh....that elusive dream of owning a Cup winner. Much like owning an international quality Grand Prix horse!!! Is that why I do this....to own and ride that amazing horse that has the athletisim, temperament and character to go all the way? How many of us dream of having this horse in our stables and realistically how many of us ever will? And yet, we keep on searching or trying to breed that amazing horse that can carry us all the way. Much like Grandpa Jack who did manage to breed and own 'Pandi Star' that went on to place 5th and 7th in consecutive Melbourne Cups. Such a great achievement to have a horse even start in a Melbourne Cup.
So, are we born to be horse lovers? Well my Dad was a great horseman and horse lover. He went droving as a young man and spent years out on properties. My Mum, was born one of five daughters and grew up way out west of Queensland. Her father, Jack, didn't like any girls in the camp so Mum grew up without horses in her life. Yet now, with both of her children into 'horses' she has a natural eye for a good horse and great horse sense around them that, to be quite honest, would take most 'non-horsey' people a decade to learn.
It makes me think that horses are in the blood.....but there are a great number of people out there that are addicted to horses without having a 'horsey' family. So, no matter how you end up having a love of horses pulsing through your veins it is an addiction that lasts a lifetime. To see a beautiful horse is like looking at a work of art....it is forever more appreciated.
How do we get into horses, and how does this seemingly never-ending obsession begin? Well for me, it apparently started way before I have my first childhood memory. Because, according to my parents I was frantic about horses before I could even walk and talk. For as long as I have had memories, I had always wanted and begged for a horse. I endured years of receiving horse books, barbie horses (there was even the joke about giving me a pile of horse poo and saying that the horse must have run away!!) and the like for Christmas and birthday presents. Finally, when I was 13 my parents finally relented and bought me a thoroughbred ex-race horse as my first horse.
There is the old saying about having horses in the blood. On both sides of my family I have horse people in my family. My father's mother was a keen horse woman who, not only loved horses but was a fine rider as well. And, my mother's father, Jack Clanchy, bred and owned race horses. Grandpa Jack even gave one of his horses to a young an aspiring Colin Hayes as his first race-horse to train. He then went on to spend all of his years trying to breed and own a Melbourne Cup winner. Ahhhh....that elusive dream of owning a Cup winner. Much like owning an international quality Grand Prix horse!!! Is that why I do this....to own and ride that amazing horse that has the athletisim, temperament and character to go all the way? How many of us dream of having this horse in our stables and realistically how many of us ever will? And yet, we keep on searching or trying to breed that amazing horse that can carry us all the way. Much like Grandpa Jack who did manage to breed and own 'Pandi Star' that went on to place 5th and 7th in consecutive Melbourne Cups. Such a great achievement to have a horse even start in a Melbourne Cup.
So, are we born to be horse lovers? Well my Dad was a great horseman and horse lover. He went droving as a young man and spent years out on properties. My Mum, was born one of five daughters and grew up way out west of Queensland. Her father, Jack, didn't like any girls in the camp so Mum grew up without horses in her life. Yet now, with both of her children into 'horses' she has a natural eye for a good horse and great horse sense around them that, to be quite honest, would take most 'non-horsey' people a decade to learn.
It makes me think that horses are in the blood.....but there are a great number of people out there that are addicted to horses without having a 'horsey' family. So, no matter how you end up having a love of horses pulsing through your veins it is an addiction that lasts a lifetime. To see a beautiful horse is like looking at a work of art....it is forever more appreciated.
Posted by Kate Wilson.
