Laurel and Ginger, circa 1974 -- photo is copyright Happinessisahorse.com -- All rights reserved

A Pony of Her Own: A short story about girls and horses by Laurel M. Smith

Ch. 1 – Riding Lessons

Nine year old Libby James had brown hair and freckles on her nose.  Her long
legs were perfect for her favorite thing — horseback riding.  Like most girls her
age, she loved horses more than anything in the world.  She read books about
horses, drew pictures of horses, collected toy horses, and even pretended to be
a horse sometimes.  She dreamed of one day having a horse or pony of her
very own.  But until that day came, she would have to be content with the school
horses during her riding classes at Spring Park Stables.

There were six riders in the class: Libby, her best friend Lauren, Amy, Christy,
Monica, and Jason who was Libby’s younger brother. They were learning
English style riding.

Libby was riding Cracker-Jack today.  He was a tall chestnut colored
Standard-Bred horse with a broad white blaze down his face.  He had a steady
gait but was a bit on the lazy side.  Libby gently squeezed Cracker-Jack’s sides
with her legs to get him moving a little faster just as she had been taught.  She
was falling behind the others and wanted to catch up.

“Keep those heels down, Jason!” said their riding instructor, Miss Lee.  “And
watch that your hands don’t get too high.

“Your posture is looking great, Libby.  There is such a nice visual line from your
shoulders down through your hips and all the way to your heels. If you had your
own pony, I’d say you were ready for the next riding level in Pony Club.”  Her
compliments made Libby feel good.

The Pony Club was a lot like her Girl Scout Troop except that Pony Club
members had to own or lease their own horse or pony, and all the activities in
the club were related to horseback riding.  They took riding lessons together,
learned how to train their own horses and ponies, and attended riding
competitions.  In the summer, they went to Pony Club camp with their ponies,
and in the winter, they participated in a Knowledge Bowl.  The Knowledge Bowl
was like a spelling bee, except that instead of spelling, all the questions were
about riding and caring for horses or ponies.

A rating system was used to group Pony club members with other kids of their
same riding ability for competitions and instruction.

Miss Lee’s compliments about being in the next riding level were nice, but Pony
Club was just a far away dream for Libby without a horse or pony of her own.

Miss Lee now wanted her class to take their horses through the pole obstacle.
She had laid out six poles on the ground and evenly spaced them.  The riders
were to trot the horses through them taking only one step between each pole.  It
was a fun exercise because the horses always went with a little more spring in
their step through the poles.  Christy went first followed by Amy.  They went
through one by one.  Then it was Libby’s turn.  Cracker-Jack was being lazy as
usual.  Libby had to really work just to get him to trot, but he finally took the poles
easily with his long stride.

It was great fun learning how to ride during her lessons every Saturday, but she
had to ride different horses all the time.  Some of them were easy and others
more difficult.  It was hard to get used to riding any one in only an-hour lesson
each week.  “It’s all part of becoming a good rider,” Miss Lee once told her.

Most of the lesson horses were big.  Many of the lesson horses were also for
sale.  Their owners made them available for lessons so that lots of different
people could try them.  Miss Lee was very good at finding a perfect match for
each horse that was for sale.

Occasionally, a smaller pony was available for lessons, but not very often.  Libby
loved ponies.  In fact, she adored them.  They were much more her size.  She
was definitely a pony person.

“Keep your chin up, Lauren!” said Miss Lee as the riders trotted around the
lesson paddock on their mounts.  “Let’s try a slow canter to the right now,
everyone!”

They all gathered up their reins a little and urged their horses forward into a nice
canter or a very slow gallop.  Libby had a little trouble convincing Cracker-Jack
to get moving again, but eventually he agreed and was cantering along with the
rest.

“Let’s all pull up to a halt now, and show me how well you can back up your
horses!  Very nice.  Now, one more canter, but in the other direction this time.”

The lesson was almost over.  Libby would have to wait until next week before
she got to ride again.  “If I had my own pony…..I could ride every day for as long
as I like!” she thought to herself.

Her friend Lauren was really lucky.  Her parents had promised to buy her a
horse or pony by the end of the summer if she became a good enough rider.
Lauren was spending the summer trying out the different horses at each lesson
to decide which one she liked the best. Although Lauren was her best friend,
Libby couldn’t help feeling a little jealous.

Libby had been taking riding lessons at the stable all summer and was
becoming quite good.  “I’ll become the best rider I can be,” she promised
herself.  “Then maybe someday I’ll have my own horse or pony, and I’ll be able to
ride everyday like Lauren will.  Maybe I’ll even join the Pony Club too.”

…. She just kept dreaming.

go to Ch. 2 — Runaway