Found Joy

Me 3 and mother holding Bunny TB grade mare- who taught the whole fam to ride!

While visiting my mother yesterday, she handed me a huge folder of photos....
I couldn't believe my eyes when I found this one.It was that photo I already have of me sitting on my sister's first saddle! But this one is NOT torn away, it shows my gleeful mother holding Bunny, my sister's first horse. I LOVE this photo!!!


That mare taught so many boys and girls how to ride! 3 of us girls in the Brown family. She was a school horse at the Lake Oswego Hunt Club after we learned, till she retired in her 20's and lived to be 30.


My fondest memory of how well she taught was the time a jumping specialist came to clinic the Pony Clubbers. I was about 11 or 12. They set up 3 in a row jumps, and we jumped them firstly regular.
 I am not sure of the correct term  for the set up of jumps, but there seemed to be one bounce in between them. It really was pop-pop-pop -over them, to the end.


Then we jumped them stirrup less. THEN- we jumped them with our arms out to the side! It truly was like flying on Bunny mare...she would jump anything you set in front of her..and high too!


I found so many other great photos from the 30's and 40' and 50's 60's and 70's of my mother riding various horses and some of my mother and sister riding too. I'll save those for a later time...'Cause I really just wanted to share this gem to my heart. 


I asked mom about the bridle configuration..it seemed strange with the brown band w Western ear cut out too. She had gotten that brow band from someone that made it. A Boondoggle.


Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me!