Editor’s Note: The response to our Youth Essay Contest was far beyond all expectations. Consequently, we decided to publish the top five entries. We are honored that so many outstanding young people took the time to respond to the topic “How My Horse has Made a Difference in My Life”.
1. Elizabeth Thomas, age 12, Everson, Washington
When I was 7 years old I learned a lesson that made a difference in my life. It was the day of my first riding lesson, the day I had waited for my entire life.
The first horse I saw was a gorgeous chestnut with a striking white blaze and four flashy socks. Her coat gleamed.
When the instructor assigned horses, I held my breath; just hoping mine would be the chestnut. I was the last to be called.
“The old dun out back is for you,” my teacher said to me as she walked out of the tack room. I was speechless. I sighed in resignation and wandered around the barn to find the horse.
“Her name is Whinny,” said the friendly girl who was leading the dun.
I scowled and began to curry her shaggy coat with all my might. I was so furious, so I brushed harder and harder. The harder I brushed, the more Whinny enjoyed it. Next came the tack. She easily accepted the saddle, and opened her mouth for the bit. By the time I got to the arena, I was surprised to enjoy the ride. Whinny had a brisk walk, a comfortable jog, and a lope that felt like a dream. She’d stop on command and could turn on a dime. I felt wonderful riding Whinny.
While un-tacking, I noticed the chestnut bucking her rider off. She reared and even tried to roll. Such a beautiful horse with such bad manners!
After that, I was always happy with whatever horse I was assigned. Whinny changed my life. I realized that the outward appearance does not matter, (horse or human) but the heart is what counts.
2. Victoria Hampton, age 12, Trout Creek, Montana
All my life I have been raised around horses and have been showing them since I was sever. The first horse I showed was a buckskin gelding named Bugsy. He was very gentle and a perfect horse for a seven year old to show. I took him to two shows; at his second show he was not acting normal. A month later he died.
After Bugsy died, I lost interest in horses. All of my mom’s friends came to her saying they had the “perfect” horse for me. But it never worked out. Then after about a year I found Cindy. One morning I was at my friend’s house, my mom came to pick me up and said that she had found a horse in the paper. I agreed to try this horse and went to look at her. Cindy was a “little old mare” who I ended up buying for $600.00.
I had a difficult time getting used to a different horse, but eventually did. That following autumn, when I was ten, I took Cindy to a 4-H show and subsequent shows. In two years I won three grand champions in showmanship and two seconds, two first, one third, and one fifth in showmanship and walk-trot classes!
Cindy has taught me patience when she isn’t listening; responsibility for all the preparation involved in caring/showing a horse; that you can love another horse when you have lost one you adored; that you don’t have to have all the expensive equipment (silver); and, that you don’t have to pay a large amount to have a fantastic horse!
3. Abigail Moody, Age 14, Spokane, Washington
Before I met my horse CB, I was very afraid of animals. When I first came into contact with CB to groom him I stood as far away as possible while still letting the brush glide over his gorgeous coat. Every time CB shifted his weight or swished his tail I flinched and jumped away. After several times of this I realized that CB had no intention of hurting me. This new realization gave me the confidence to step a little closer towards CB and give other animals a chance too. Soon I was able to come right up to CB and spill my guts to him while brushing him out.
When I rode CB for the first time I sat on top of him stiff as a board with every muscle tensed. But, as with the grooming, I learned his rhythm and we got along great. We would go around and I would be quiet and relax into the rhythm forgetting all my worries and troubles, there was just CB and I.
CB was my first real friend. Whenever I had a problem I could tell CB about it and he would listen and understand. He never laughed at me or judged me. At school I hardly had friendly acquaintances and one of my so-called friends turned into my own personal bully. But CB was always there to talk to and I got through all my problems with him to turn to.
Every minute I spent with CB boosted my confidence not only in animals but also in myself. I started to open up more to the people around me and I found it was a lot easier to make friends. These new friends stuck by my side and I could count on them. Now I have a pretty good handle on my life for a high school freshman and I couldn’t have done it without my amigo CB.
4. Dorothea Coomer, 16, Baker City, Oregon
SLEETCLOUD: Horse of a Lifetime
One and a half years isn’t long to own a horse of a lifetime, but even that time is better than none. We buy horses, and expect to have them for years. Sometimes that isn’t how it works. I bought SLEETCLOUD in April 2003. I wanted a horse to grow with, to get good with and be friends with. He was perfect: twelve years old, trained, but enough challenge to have fun with. Perky, willing and eager to try anything I asked, Sleet was definitely my buddy.
I learned much from Sleet while training him to do everything to the best of his abilities. I learned to present lessons in the simplest, most effective way to get what I wanted in the shortest time possible. Sleet learned to search for answers and that there was always release when he got it right. Sleet also taught me steady hands, a confident seat, clear intentions, and to keep the fun in everything I do.
The most important lesson Sleet taught me was also the hardest. In December 2004, he got colicky, his gut twisted and I lost my horse of a lifetime. Even to the last, he was teaching me: he taught me to trust God for the best, that I have no control over life, and that life is too short to waste time on the frivolous. In those last few hours, Sleet showed me so much bravery; he taught me the meaning of friendship and love, and that true courage is not found in fearlessness, but in facing your fears.
Sleet made such a difference in my life. I will never forget the lessons he taught me, or the partnership I shared with my Horse of a Lifetime.
5. Ana Endicott, Age 17, Los Lunas, New Mexico
When I was fifteen my father died unexpectedly from a heart attack. Mom and I were left alone in the huge house I had lived in since birth.
A horse had been my dream for as long as I can remember. Every year at Christmas I’d dream of a horse being led down the street in the snow, a bow tied around its’ neck. But finances kept my wishes from coming true.
As the weeks passed my interest in life dwindled. I felt alone, purposeless. In the morning I’d lay and ponder on what great force drove me to get up. I went to school, did my homework, finished my chores in a daze of apathy.
The cure to this disease made himself apparent one rainy November day. On a one acre mud-hole with sixteen other horses I met a scruffy weanling - a paint colt with one blue eye. He had bite marks on him, his ears were all flopped to the side.
I was staring in a mirror. He didn’t care about anything. A huge black mare came up and bit him. He ducked his head and stumbled away, eyes glazed. His owner told me that he was for sale. My mother reminded me that he was young – a thirty year commitment. I watched him go over and lay down. I walked slowly up to him waiting for him to get up, but he didn’t. He lay there and let me stroke him, his eyes half open, breathing deeply. I felt a deep trust that I couldn’t let go.
So now I have a reason to get up in the morning. I look out the window and see him waiting, ears pricked. Every morning before school I go out with a flashlight in my teeth, cleaning the shelter. He even tries to help, taking the manure fork and scrapping it along the ground. I named him Dzigah, which means “top” in Ukrainian. Top was the name my mother gave her first horse.
Now Dzigah is a two year old, sixteen hands tall and totally magnificent. Like the ugly duckling, he turned into a swan. Now we can fly together, gallop across the desert, leaving all the sadness behind.
