Cindy Was A Nag

I got my first horse, Cindy, when I was about ten or eleven years old.  We did NOT name her after my brother's wife, Cindy.  We hadn't even met his wife yet.  I remember we liked a song in school and we were always singing it while we did chores.  How the name became transferred from the song to the horse, I have no clue. 

She was a knot-head nag, always trying to scrape me and my siblings off on a fence, under a tree, under the top half of the barn door, or, if that didn't do the trick, she'd just lie down and roll over, while we were on her back.  Sometimes she would just stop walking suddenly and we'd fly over her neck to the ground, if we weren't hanging on tight. 

One summer, I got the bird-brained idea to have a horseback-riding party with some of my friends.  They all came riding on their own horses, and we rode around the farm for a while, then took a break to chat for a spell, had a cool drink, and the horses got a few sips in before we were off riding again.  Cindy was being a real nag, trying to turn the party into a rodeo, nipping at the other horses, and trying to kick and buck.  We finally called it a day, and my friends left.  I never tried that type of party again. 

Before we got Cindy, I stayed one summer with my cousin, Rita, over by Esbon, KS.  We rode her horses every day, and I fell in love with horses then.  I cried when I had to come back home, where there were no horses yet.

After I married my husband, I gave up on riding for a long time. There were four little children to care for, and no horses available to ride.  Then in the late seventies, a family moved to town with several horses.  They were always active in horse shows, parades, trail rides, and just riding as a family.  After they discovered that I had an interest in riding, I was often invited to ride along with them.  I was even taken along when they rode for business, helping other farmers and ranchers herd cattle.  Once I rode all over a pasture looking for a  lost wallet. 

Riding horseback was a hobby that I really loved. I felt on top of the world sitting on the back of a horse. I loved their smell, the feel of their hides, the sound of their hooves clomping as they walked, and the wind flying by me while we cantered and galloped.  Even the occasional bucking was a little fun.  Who knows, I might have been a rodeo contestant if I'd had the opportunity earlier in life.

I guess I'll never know.  But I still love watching a horse running free, watching rodeos, and parades with the clip-clopping of the mounts, the camaradarie of the riders.  

I can't ride anymore, due to my back issues, but I'll always love horses.