My little known, little understood past

So the Stock show got me thinking about horses. Many of my friends may not realize what a big part of my life they have been. When I moved to Colorado at the age of seven, my big hope was that with all the property we had I might get a horse. Our property in Evergreen is actually zoned to have up to two horses on it, or so I recollect my father telling me. But alas my parents where not horse types. But a stroke of good fortune put us in a county with one of the rarest organizations I've ever heard of, the Westernairs. You had to live in Jefferson county to be a part of it and for a $20 annual due (no joking) you could be a member. The best part is that you did not have to own your own horse. They had about 50 horses that they cared for and you could rent at $5 a ride. It worked this way, the first year you rode every other week on Saturday in a class learning the basics of western team riding. After that year you were placed in a team and would ride every week. Every year you advanced (if you were ready) up a team. The drills would get more complex and you would ride them at increasing speed.

What a deal! I got to ride horses once a week from the ages of 11 to 17. Here's a link to video of a few of the teams. Seeing is so much easier than trying to describe what sort of horse back riding this is. No I did not do Chariots, or Riders of the Steps, or Freedom Riders. But I did participate for a year in the pony team driving a cart and for a year after that I did pony romans, which is riding two ponies while standing with one foot on each. Ye Haw!