Thank you and God bless,
- Rodeo~Girl~4Life
Ride the Wild Pony
Have you ever had someone tell you that you will never be good enough? Smart enough? Or even that you will never be up to par with everyone else? Well let me tell you about a girl who was never like everyone else and a horse that was never given a chance. This is a story about the horse who learned to trust again and the girl that never gave up.It was the summer before Lauren’s senior year. She was so happy that this year was over,
“Finally, school is done. I have all this free time to ride and do whatever I want to do.”
Lauren was an avid horseback rider and pretty much lived at the barn. However this last year was especially hard on her. With the temperature in Minnesota dropping to -4 degrees and lower and having had gum surgery and a strained muscle in her neck, Lauren had not been able to ride for over four months. Also not riding made her think about horses so much that her grades were not the greatest. Not to mention the new owner of the barn, Marcie, was mean to the people at the barn. She constantly put down other people.
She would often say to Lauren, staff and other riders, “I hate stupid people and stupid questions; they should be put out of their misery and get hit by a bus.”
Lauren never did like it when she would say that to people, but she just brushed it off. She just thought that as long as she had the horses, she can deal with the owner. Even though Marcie would constantly yell at Lauren and tell her what she was doing wrong. People that had been at the barn would often times ask Lauren why doesn’t she just leave and she would always say, “The barn is my home. I never abandon home. This will only last a little while. It will all get better soon.”
Lauren had started training some of the horses that were a little unruly and needed to be worked with so that they would behave better for the younger riders. However just when Lauren would start with one horse, the owner would make her work with a different one before she could even get anywhere with them. She spent countless days in the hot summer sun working with the kids and their horses during camp and working with the horses on their ground manners. She would often pray at night and she would tell God,
“Dear God, please help me with working with the horses. Let my skills get stronger and the horses get better. Please, so that Marcie won’t get mad at me anymore. Please help me God… Amen!”
God was about to help her alright, but not in the way that she ever expected. It all came in the form of a Natural Horsemanship instructor and a local store owner.
“Lauren, you need to stop pulling so much on Taco’s mouth. The people at the barn have seen you pulling on his mouth a lot! Plus you have developed a terrible seat!” Says Marcie in a telephone call to Lauren.
“Who has even been there to even watch me besides my mom? Honestly, no one has been there EVER!”
“That doesn’t matter. I am making you take English lessons with Jessica and me so you learn not to pull so much, get soft hands and a better seat.”
Lauren has never had any interest in leaving Western riding for English riding. She thought English was way too girlie. Western was what she always had fun in and could see herself doing great things with.
“English lessons? I don’t want to take English lessons. Can I possibly do something else? Go bareback?”
In the most annoyed voice Marcie says, “FINE! You can go bareback, but you have to do the clinic from the new western instructor I hired!”
So they agreed that Lauren would do some bareback riding to improve her seat and in one month she would attend a Natural Horsemanship clinic. Little did Lauren know Marcie had just done something that might actually help her after all.
The days came and went. Lauren kept her part of the agreement she had made by going bareback. Then the day came for the horse world as she knew it to change. The day she started the clinic.
It was the middle of July. It was rather sunny out. Lauren got to the barn, grabbed the horse she would use. His name was Pilgrim, but everyone called him Fatty McButter Pants because he was so big. People said that he was slow and wasn’t a very good horse, but Lauren didn’t care; he was just as good as any other horse in her eyes.
“Fatty, you may not be pretty and you may not be very good, but I still think you are just as good as most of the horses here!” Lauren would tell him.
She waited in the arena for the instructor. Lauren had no idea what the instructor looked like, much less what she acted like. Whether she was nice or mean. This made Lauren fairly nervous. There originally was going to be 4 people including Lauren in the clinic, but for some reason two of them dropped out. So it was just Lauren and Jessica.
Jessica was the type that treated you nice on the outside, but would turn around and stab you in the back in a heartbeat. She pretty much got anything she wanted considering her parents were both doctor’s, except her own horse. She was also very timid and not very assertive. She was Marcie’s little pet and tattled on Lauren every chance she’d get.
“Aren’t you so excited about the clinic?” says Jessica.
“Yeah, I guess. I could use a chance to brush up my skills.”
All of a sudden a fairly tall, muscular lady named Debbie Markcowitz walks into the barn with a huge draft horse trailing behind her. “Hello there. You must be Jessica and Lauren. Well let’s get started, everyone unhalter your horse!”
Jessica and Lauren both give each other a look of confusion.
“Unhalter our horses? Isn’t this supposed to be a natural horsemanship training lesson?” Jessica asks.
“This is all part of our training. We will start at the beginning from when you go to halter your horse to bring him into the barn.”
As the lesson went on Lauren was simply amazed at what Debbie was teaching her. They were things that were challenging for both her and Fatty, but so interesting that she wanted to learn so much more. Lauren loved what she was learning so much that she would arrive at the barn an hour before the clinic so that she and Fatty could practice what they had learned. The instructor took note of this. She would watch Lauren and Fatty practice. This is how Lauren got her nickname as Debbie’s AP student; the instructor thought that she had a lot of dedication, talent and heart with the horses. By the end of the clinics Lauren had learned so much more and Fatty was a better behaved horse.
Fatty had made such a transformation that Marcie decided to buy him as a lesson horse for the younger riders. This made Lauren so proud that she got to help with his training so that he can help teach the young kids to ride too.
Lauren kept using Debbie as her instructor and she was a great instructor, but the problem was that the horses did not challenge Lauren enough. In her almost four years of riding and taking lessons, she had never really experienced what it was like to ride a horse that wasn’t what horse people call quiet. That means that the horse would not react to anything, they would just be patient and stand there. It wasn’t until the day she would meet a local country store owner named John Fitzgerald, that she would come to meet the horse that would take her on the best adventure of her life.
“Look mom, LOOK a new country store! Can we go? Oh please can we?” Lauren says excitedly at the ad placed in the local newspaper. Both her and her mom loved to go to the country stores to see what fun animal stuff they had.
“Sure, we can this afternoon when I come home from work.”
They drive along a never ending country road, full of twists and turns, but simply beautiful scenery. Lauren loved the summer time when the baby animals were out and ready to play. Always curious and willing to explore, no matter what the consequences.
The car then pulls up into the parking lot of the country store. Lauren goes inside. She was simply amazed at the look of the store. It was huge! Full of never ending isles of horse halters, dog toys, training aids and more. It’s safe to say that Lauren loved this store. She and her mom were looking at the dog toys when they came across the owner, John. John was a very tall, sturdy looking man that looked like he had wrestled with a couple of grizzlies in his lifetime.
“Hello, may I help you with anything?” John says with a sincere smile.
“Oh, no, I am just admiring this amazing store. It’s our first day coming in and I absolutely love it.” Lauren says eagerly.
“Well what do you like best about the store?”
“I really like the dog toys and the riding clothes, but I especially love the horse section!”
“Oh, do you have any horses?”
“No, but I do ride at a local barn around here and I take lessons from Debbie Markcowitz. Do you happen to know her?”
“Oh yeah, I know Debbie, she works right at the front desk of my store. She is simply amazing when it comes to horses. Come on let me show you all around the store!”
John shows them just about every inch of the store and tells them about when he was a horse trader in Colorado and what it was like there. He also tells them why he chose to put the store where it is. He begins to tell them about his extravagant plans to build a barn when he then has an idea.
“You said you ride at a local barn around here correct? Would you be interested in riding one of my horses so she can get some exercise?” John asks.
“Sure, let’s take a look!”
John leads Lauren and her mom through the back of the store, up some stairs that were very weeded and steep. Lauren’s mom was really questioning if she wore the right shoes for this voyage. Lauren couldn’t help but wonder if this would be another dead end to finding someone willing to free lease their horse. Her mom would always say, “You just wait until the right person comes along and asks you for help with their horses. That way you will know it is right for you.”
They finally get to a round pen on top of a hill. Lauren sees this pretty paint horse standing there grazing.
“Is that the horse?” Lauren asks.
“That one? Oh no, that’s Patrick. He’s my roping horse. The one you would be working with is eating under the tree.”
Just when Lauren looked under the tree, she saw the most beautiful horse she had ever laid eyes on. The horse had a red looking coat, with a white blaze and three white socks.
“He is so beautiful. What’s his name?” Lauren asks in amazement.
“Well her name is Daisy and she is a six year old American Paint. She was bred out of Zippo Pine Bar the eleventh, who is the great grandson of Zippo Pine Bar. He was the top western pleasure stallion in the world in the 1990s. Her mom’s name is Daisy Duke, making Daisy’s registered show name Unzip My Daisy Dukes. I may have a 12 year old ride her for 4H. Be careful though, she’s a wild pony!”
“Wild?” Her mom asks.
John goes on to tell them how Daisy had dragged his daughter in a show, bucked off some of her riders, bit a few other people and the list dragged on.
Lauren pipes up and says, “I will ride her!”
Her mom being well aware of her safety as usual says, “Well let’s think about it and talk to Debbie first before we go making any rash decisions here!”
Lauren agrees, even though she knows in her heart that she wants to work with this horse. Lauren thought about Daisy each and every day. She wondered what she was like and why she had done that to so many people. She was itching to ask Debbie about her.
Finally the day came for Lauren’s lesson. Debbie barely walked into the barn when Lauren asks, “Hey, you know John’s horse Daisy? Would she be a good horse for me to ride?”
Debbie with a surprised look on her face says, “Oh, well she is pretty wild! She might even be a little too high strung for you. However, it might be a great challenge. Tell you what I will talk it over with John and I will see what I can do.”
Lauren waited for what seemed like an eternity for Debbie to ask about Daisy. She was beginning to wonder if she would ever get to see her again. She would pray every night that God would bring them together again. Somehow she felt like they belonged together.
About a week had passed since Debbie had said she would ask about Daisy. Lauren was sitting in her room when she heard her phone go off. She rushed to grab it, hoping it was Debbie calling about Daisy. Sure enough it was.
“Hey, I was just calling to ask if you are still interested in working with Daisy?”
“Of course I am!”
“Alright then how about we set up your next lesson with Daisy? I just want you to understand that she is a very wild horse and she is quite different from what you are used to. I don’t usually do something like this for my students. If you feel that she is too much horse for you at any time you are working with her, make sure to let me know!”
“Ok, when can we set up that lesson?”
Lauren sets up her lesson with Debbie for the very next afternoon. She was so excited about her lesson that she could not sleep at all that night constantly wondering what it would be like or what if they were so good together that they could enter competitions, win nationals or even go professional!
The next day Lauren and her mom arrive at the store. They meet Debbie in the store parking lot. Together they go out into the pasture, halter both of the horses and head to the barn. Debbie explains the importance of space when working with Daisy, also the importance of thinking ahead so that you stay safe. Lauren was about to learn just how important that was when she went to lunge Daisy. Right as she twirled the end of the lead to send her into the circle, Daisy reared high into the air.
“Keep swinging the end of the rope! Stand your ground; tell her that you are the boss!” Debbie would say.
Even though this scared Lauren so much that she was shaking in her boots, she knew she couldn’t give up!
With everything that she and Daisy did, Daisy would always try to rear, bite or kick at Lauren. If she would walk up to pet Daisy’s belly or even walk behind her, Daisy would always watch her carefully, so as to always know where and what she was doing. Debbie would say it was because she didn’t trust her yet. Lauren wanted Daisy to trust and respect her so bad that it hurt.
They worked and worked day after day and with every single day that went by they got a little bit better. Daisy would still show some attitude, but she pretty much quit bucking and rearing. Lauren was beginning to feel like she was finally getting somewhere until she learned the exact extent of Daisy’s disrespect. However she also learned just how many boundaries Daisy knew.
On this day, Daisy and Lauren were working on yielding Daisy’s hindquarters. Daisy had been getting really good with this exercise that Lauren didn’t really worry about Daisy doing anything to her. When she went to go pet Daisy on her neck, Daisy opened her mouth, grabbed Lauren’s arm with her teeth and threw her so hard that she screamed, slammed her head against the metal fence and her whole body hit the hard dirt floor. Daisy had thrown Lauren a good five feet. Lauren opened her eyes to hear her mother saying, “Just get up and get her feet moving!”
She could also feel Daisy tugging on the lead rope, knowing that she had done something really bad! As mad as Lauren was at Daisy for doing it, she was also proud of Daisy for knowing that she had done something wrong because a truly mean horse would think nothing of it or even do something worse after it, but a great horse would recognize that they did something bad and know that they are about to be punished. That is exactly what Daisy did. Lauren knew she was just testing her limits and really didn’t mean to hurt her. Lauren then got up, looked her right in the eyes, mean as ever and made her run hard for over an hour! By the end Daisy was sweating and out of breath. From then on, she never attempted to bite Lauren ever again.
The next day Lauren came in and did their usual ground work. Everything went great. Lauren then said to her mom, “Today is the day I will ride the wild pony!”
Reluctantly Lauren’s mom hoisted her up on Daisy. She did not buck or even react until Lauren asked her to move forward. Lauren gave her a cluck and squeezed her with her calves gently. Nothing happened. She tried again. Still nothing. She tried over and over, kicking smacking and clucking as hard as she could and Daisy still would not budge.
“Could you please get me my spurs and a crop?” Lauren asks her mom.
Her mom brings her spurs and a crop that she had in her bag. Lauren puts the spurs on her boots and the crop in her hand.
“Whether you like it or not Daisy, you are going to move. So we can do this the easy way or the hard way!”
Daisy obviously chose the hard way. As soon as Lauren smacked her with her crop and rolled her spurs, Daisy pinned her ears and backed right up into the fence. All she would do is back up. They then tried again and again and again. All she did was back up. Lauren started to think, ‘There has got to be a different way to do this!’
It was then that she remembered something from a long time ago. Her very first trainer told her that if a horse is misbehaving or won’t listen to you, turn them in a tight circle. So Lauren asked Daisy to move again. She backed up like she had been doing, only this time instead of letting her back up, Lauren turned her in a very tight circle. It took Lauren three tries before magic happened, Daisy finally moved forward.
This made Lauren ecstatic. Knowing that she came up with the solution completely on her own without the aid of others made her feel like she could do anything.
After all that, it was like they had broken past a huge metal barrier. Lauren and Daisy’s skills began to grow even faster. With every day that passed, Lauren was discovering something new that Daisy could do. Daisy was now starting to trust Lauren so much that she would follow her all around the arena, no matter if she had treats or not. She was also becoming such a respectful and polite horse that Lauren even put her three year old cousin on her back and walked her around. For Lauren that says a lot about a horse when you can trust them with a three year old. Her instructor was also noticing the great change in Daisy.
“I honestly cannot believe the complete change this horse has made! She is a totally different horse!” Her instructor would say in complete shock.
Daisy was also getting very protective when it came to other horses being around Lauren. If any of them even so much as tried to hurt her in any way, she went literally insane. She even went as far as protecting her from her stable mate when he was about to kick her.
It was the middle of September. Lauren was trying to get her stable mate, Patrick, out of his stall. He was pitching a royal fit as usual while Lauren was standing outside the stall behind the boarded part in the corner in case he decided to kick. He then walks out of his stall, but not in a nice way. His ears were pinned. He was looking for revenge. Patrick had Lauren cornered. He turned so that his butt was facing Lauren. There was no where Lauren could go. She was trapped. Lauren then put her arms around her head to soften the blow and did the only thing she could, scream.
“AHHHHHHHHHH…..” Lauren cries out, waiting to feel his hoof hit her body. She thought she was going to die.
Daisy heard her scream and in an instant began to charge. Seconds before Patrick was about to kick, Daisy runs between them and takes the blow. All Lauren could hear was the loud cry of Daisy’s unmistakable winnie. Lauren then opens her eyes, sees Patrick running angrily around the arena and Daisy standing right in front of her.
“You saved me!” Says Lauren as she wraps her arms around Daisy, tears running her cheeks. “I always knew in my heart you were a great horse! How can I ever repay you?”
Lauren began to think about that question for a little while and realized she had been answering it all along. No one had really bothered to give Daisy the attention she desperately needed. All Daisy ever wanted was someone to love and care about her. That is exactly what Lauren did.
Six months after all of this, Lauren and Daisy are still joined at the hip more than ever. Lauren is now into her second semester of high school. She never went back to her old barn. Lauren finally learned that it’s ok to move on. The barn was later sold and Marcie was out of a job. Lauren still talks to Jessica every now and then, but will never hang out with her again. The entire adventure with Daisy has helped Lauren find herself and what she wanted to do in life. This fall Lauren will be attending college with a Equine Science major so she can help more horses like Daisy. Maybe even help others ride the wild ponies.
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