The Annual Christmas Eve Day Ride

On Christmas Eve Day when Leslie and I were young and had horses of our own, we would deck the horses out in red and green and go for a ride together. We'd take the trail up the moraine and through the woods and come out on flatter ground which was much easier for riding - we could ride side by side and chat whereas in the woods and on the moraine we had to go single file. We were teen-age girls and we wanted to gab!Me on Sweet Amy and Leslie on Pokey, ready to (literally) head for the hills. This is 1971. (Almost 50 years ago!)Some years my friend, Bobbie Sue, and her gelding, Starbuck, would join us.

We'd ride through neighborhoods and sometimes little kiddos would come out with carrots or sugar cubes and ask if they could pet our horses. (See my old Kodak Instamatic camera hanging from my saddle horn?)

A close up of one of Pokey's "bridle rosettes" made of satin ribbon and tied to his headstall.

Back then, the roads were a lot quieter as there were no neighborhoods or towns out that way.

Taking that ride together was a good way for us to pass the time on one of the absolute longest days of the year. (As a mom and grandmother, it is now one of the shortest!) And, it gave our parents a chance to do some last minute wrapping, assembling, or preparation without worrying about one of us popping in on them by mistake.

The last door to open in the advent calendar contains

a Firebird unicorn!

That was fun - count me in next year for another advent surprise calendar!

Dad's Slides: Girl Scout Horse Camp

Before I had a horse of my own, I took advantage of every opportunity that came my way to be around them. Girl Scout Camp at Sycamore Valley in 1967 was one of those opportunities.

 Sycamore Valley was beautiful and situated on the Wildcat, a tributary of the Wabash.

I was ten and went with my best friend, Bobbie Sue. (She was the one I used to hold backyard model horse shows with.)

Bobbie with LBJ, the camp's resident burro. (LBJ was the nickname for Lyndon B. Johnson, the President. Someone was not a fan of him when they named that donkey!)

I reveled in having access to so many horses while at camp. 

This girl reminds me of Irish Flame. And that saddle sore on her back looks like it was painful.

Look at the color on the horse behind her - oh, how I wish a photo of it by itself were in the slides that my father took!

Bobbie Sue and I went to Girl Scout camp together several times, but eventually we both dropped out of Girl Scouts when we started Junior High. 

We continued going to horse camp together, though. More tomorrow!