Darlene's Horse Photos page 2


That's Old Paint and me on a cattle ranch in Colorado. This was during a family trip out to my dad's homestead town where he grew up. I got the rare opportunity (as a suburban gal) to ride on a short cattle drive. Wow! A few times I just had to hang on to Paint as he chased young steers through the marsh, across ditches, and up embankments. Those doggies don't like being moved to other pastures. At least Paint knew what he was doing! (I was 13 in this photo.)		"Paint"

"Fairy Princess" (pictured at age 2) This was one of my favorite horses at the riding stable. She was at least half Arabian; a chestnut with a blaze and soft pink muzzle. I watched her grow up, from a friendly puppy-dog-like filly, to see her have her own filly in her likeness. I only rode Princess once before her untimely death from colic at the age of 4. She left behind Morning Star who was bottle raised. (right)		"Morning Star" Star was the "surprise" filly of Princess, from an accidental mating with a large pinto pony. She was a yearling in this photo in 1970. Comanche, the pinto colt behind her was a "surprise" late-in-life foal of Dolly (see third picture below). The brown mare behind Comanche, is Lindy dam of Stormy.

"Stormy" was a yearling colt for sale at the riding/boarding stable I rode at. I really wanted to buy him, but there was no way to make that possible. He was half Arabian and half Q.H. cross, and such a sweetheart. Someone else bought him, and he moved to a new home. (I was 15.) His sire Abadee is shown below. (photo taken in 1970)		"Flash" and "Sunny" were also yearlings in this photo. Flash was a sabino roan 15/16 Arab colt out of a flashy 7/8 Arab/TWH red roan minimal sabino named Babe. Sunny was a palomino Half Arab filly out of a palomino named Brandy (in the background near my hat). The purebred Arabian sire of these foals is shown below. (photo taken in 1970)
"Abadee" 8-yr. old dappled chestnut Arabian stallion (photo taken 1968). Sire of Stormy, Flash, and Sunny above.
I'm the one in the hat again (age 17) on Gypsy, and my sister-in-law is on Dolly at the riding stable I had ridden at since I was 8. The stable owned and boarded 30-40 horses, of which about half I had ridden and come to know. I would sometimes do 4 hours of odd chores around the ranch to earn a $3 one-hour ride. This "back in the saddle again ride" was after not being able to ride for 3 years, because of a body brace that I wore for scoliosis of the spine. I picked one of the gentlest horses they had; one that I had ridden as a child. Gypsy had one brown eye (in the black area) and one blue eye (in the white area of her face). Dolly, the bay, knew lots of tricks. She could rear up with her owner in the saddle, untie knots, unlatch gates, and count. She was almost always overweight, because she could find ways to get out of her corral to the feed or pasture, unless the gate was padlocked. When she was young and not overweight, she jumped fences to get out! Dolly was the 1st horse I rode by myself at this stable, when I was 9. Her strawberry roan son Shamrock was the first horse I rode there, with the owner riding double with me.		"Gypsy" and "Dolly"

"Red"		No, this is not a movie set, but an old abandoned saloon in a suburban neighborhood behind my friend's house. Red was staying in this lot temporarily, and the owners said we could exercise her occasionally. So of course we jumped at the chance to ride for free and had a great time for a few weeks taking Red around the school track and wooded trails across the street. (That's me at 17, sitting on the fence chewin' on alfalfa.)