The Saddle

The Saddle 

I got my first pony when I was 8 years old.  We had nothing.  We literally stopped by tractor supply on our way to get the pony and picked up a halter, lead rope, brush, curry comb and a hoof pick.  We brought the pony home in an open topped trailer.  We didn’t have any pasture, so we tied her out on a 30 ft rope till we got fencing up. up.  We were as green as they come when it came to owning a horse.  But our neighbor saw that we had gotten a pony, and he came down to check the situation out.  When he found out we didn’t have any tack or anything, he said, “I got this saddle up in the barn. You’ll have to clean it up, but you can have it.” When he brought it down it was white with mold and mildew on it. I cleaned and cleaned but I got it done. I used that saddle till I outgrew it, but it always had a special spot since it was my first saddle. It had become a house decoration for the most part because I just couldn’t part with it.

The back story of this saddle is this.  I ended up marrying the neighbor’s son in 2007.  So for 20ish years, this saddle had been out of the family. This saddle had belonged to Don’s sister, Connie, who passed away way too young at 14 from Hodgkins Disease. Don had bought this saddle for her. She loved her pony from what I’ve been told.  Maybe we had a kindred horse love and Don thought the saddle would be used and loved again.  He had a heart of gold and helped us many times over the next few years.  When our pony coliced one night, Don and his son Jeremy came down to help us out. Jeremy is who I ended up marrying.  As my father-in-law, Don would always give me a hard time about the horses but always supported me and my girls with the horses!  The “rest of the story” is dedicated to

Connie Marie Wallace  July 5, 1956 – November 25, 1970

Donald Lee Wallace   August 24, 1948 – November 19, 2019