You know how many little girls go through a 'horse phase'? Well, my equine obsessions went on for a solid eight years and there are still frequent relapses even now (today being one of those days).
Fortunately, during childhood, I was lucky enough to live close enough to an actual working pony farm - a pre-pubescent girl's fantasy come true. We lived down the street from Teusink's Pony Farm and I grew up watching older girls clip clop down the block on horseback while I watched from the yard and counted down the years until I turned eight, the age when I could 'rent' a pony all for my very own.
Just to be clear, a pony is not a baby horse as some of you might assume. A pony is actually just a small type of horse much like how a Chihuahua is a small type of dog. I remember, crystal clear, the day my mom took me to the farm to meet my first pony, Sugarbabe. It was raining and I was wearing my red rubber boots and my green plaid raincoat. I was so excited and happy I almost couldn't stand it. Larry, one of the generations of farmers that have lived and worked at Teusinks, showed me how to brush, saddle and bridle Sugarbabe and before I knew it I was on my very first ride. It was a pretty awesome feeling for an eight-year-old . . . heck, it's still an awesome feeling.
I spent pretty much all of my childhood at the farm. From April 1 to October 30 you could lease your own pony for about $300 - and you didn't even have to pay for food or shots or anything - Larry took care of everything. So, on school days my sister and I were at the farm from 3-7pm and in the summer from 10-5. It was idyllic to say the least. Our days were filled with barefoot and bareback games of "cowboys and Indians", rodeos, jumping, races, playing with kittens, swimming in the creek and playing in the hay loft.
Each year, as you got older and grew bigger you could graduate to a new pony. My ponies were: Sugarbabe, Go-Go-Girl, Sugar, Dustin and Stormy and my first horse was Bea Jay at a different farm. But not only did we grow close to our furry friends we made human friends too. I met one of my best friends, Linde, while at Teusinks and I am heading out to visit her in Colorado next week. My other pony pal, Kim, went to college with me and writes a blog called One.
Since my sister is home this week and also loved the farm we decided to pay it a visit this evening. Oh, man. Stepping out of the car and smelling the barn and farm smell was like a rush of narcotics to the head. I almost burst into tears when I saw all of the little girls racing around on their ponies and my sister had to tell me to 'pull it together.' They were having a special pony slumber party so they could ride late into the night and then sleep over in the barn. Awesome! I was totally jealous and was ready to ask to join in immediately but the best I got was an offer to sit on one of the ponies. As you can see, I'm a little too big - my feet almost touch the ground!
We had so much fun talking to the girls, visiting the ponies, petting the kitties and then talking with Larry. We even went to visit the big barn with the harness racing horses, draft horses, cows, pigs, donkeys, sheep, goats, bunnies and chickens. It was a delightful evening and I am reveling in the fact that I still smell like a barn even though I am sitting in bed. We fed some of the old favorites (Spice, Babe, Cinnamon, King and Midnight) carrots and gave a lot of pony kisses on the nose. Fact: you can never have too many pony kisses.
I would go back to being eight in a second if it meant I could spent a few more days having fun on the farm. Sigh. I love ponies.
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