I had the most fantastic pony when I was little, and my dad would take me for trail rides- only he didn't have a horse- he would jog alongside my pony.  For miles.  She occasionally would spook, and toss me, and he'd try his best to catch me and put me back on, and we'd continue on.  First at our mountain home in North Carolina along our 72 acre ridge property, up and down huge slopes and uneven terrain, and then later through neighborhoods and along dirt roads when we moved to Florida.  I get really emotional just thinking about it.  It was the most fun ever!

My biggest memory is that to always have fun. My sister and I would spend our days, all day long, riding our pony's. We played cowboys and indians, Bonanza, or The Lone Ranger episodes. We would laugh and just have fun. Our parents never had to worry about us. They always knew where we'd be. The pony's were our responsibility. It was up to us to make sure they were groomed. We would make them gleam in the sunshine. And we spent hours getting the burrdocks out of their manes and tails before we could even ride them. We were forever outside breathing in fresh air, being in the sunshine and using our imaginations to keep up occupied. We had the best childhood and I wouldn't trade it for all the video games in the world.

I grew up with alot of different horses. The one that stands out was Silver, a shetland pony. You could do just about anything with her and when she had a filly named babydoll, she would let her baby go under the fence to see me. She was so tame if you didn't watch she would follow you into the house or where you went. I out grew riding Silver but the bond was always there.

Melanie Ohio