Horses came into my life through my wife Judy. Riding has been her joy for the last 15 years. But for me, not so much. Well, at first, anyway. I took some English riding lessons with her 7 years ago, and while it was very helpful, it just did not hold my interest.
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| Me on Barron |
Things changed in 2006: We bought two horses, a Quarter Horse Stallion (Barron) and his son, a Paint (Tzar). Barron was the perfect "Husband Horse," meaning he is so well behaved that you could even put an inexperienced husband on him. Fortunately, Barron was patient as I learned. Allie, Dan, and I took turns riding him through woods and farms. Now, I was having fun!
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| Judy on Tzar |
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| Allie on Barron |
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| Dan on Barron |
But it wasn't until the next year that I was hooked. I watched my first Polocrosse Tournament at Black Horse Farm in Felton. I watched the US Polocrosse team play the visiting Irish team. The sights and sounds of six noble horses racing up and down the field can't be described. It can only be experienced. I came away from that weekend thinking, "This is so cool, but I'll never be able to do that." Or maybe I would . . .
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| Allie and Me |
The following summer, the opportunity came. Judy, Allie, and I joined the Spring Valley Polocrosse Club. To say that it was slow at first, was an understatement. I was still a beginning rider and it was a challenge to try to get Barron to move where I wanted while trying to scoop up the ball from the ground. I had no racket skills and no riding skills, but I was having fun. Then came the news: There was a tournament coming up in 3 weeks. Would we like to compete? 3 weeks into the sport, and we were headed for a tournament! We walked, trotted, stumbled and fumbled that tournament weekend, but we had fun.
The next couple of years Judy and I progressed in our riding and Polocrosse skills. Barron did well as a beginner horse. Tzar, not so much, so Judy leased Ria, a wonderful, fast, experienced Polocrosse horse. We moved beyond trot, and now we were galloping down the field.
But I found that Barron had his limits. He was willing and usually patient as he learned the sport, but as the level of played progressed, we were literally being left in the dust. He just did not have the speed. This became more apparent at the 2010 Bay Area Tournament. We ended up with second place. We played the 1st place team twice, and twice, Barron and I got pushed all around the field by a mare, who happened to have "For Sale" painted on her butt. We looked at her that afternoon, bought her and took Kahlua home that weekend. Kahlua won best horse honors that weekend.
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| Kaylee |
As there was already a Kahlua on the farm where we boarded, we renamed her Kaylee. She is a delight to ride: energetic, fast, and sure-footed. You just give her the lightest signal and she responds. Did I mention that she is fast? There is no feeling on this earth like the feel of racing down field or trail on a fast horse. Oh, yeah, now I am hooked . .
