She never missed a class…
Susan Hutchison
Temecula, CA
I don’t have a specific story about my Mom…I just am so lucky that I had such a great Mom. She never missed a class, came to most of my lessons and was supportive in every way. I was a very lucky kid.

Crisis, and the best time ever…
Shannon Clark
Hemet, CA
Our first trip with the truck and trailer to Des Moines, Iowa, for the POA International Sale and Futurities. One blow out, two leaking tires, a 2-year-old with stitches, buying five horses and only having a three-horse trailer AND an insane freak storm with lightning, hail, and black ice…yet having the best time ever!

Riding on the beach with mom…
Jennifer Rose
Templeton, CA
My mom and I have been close my whole life. She has always been there for me and is sometimes more of a best friend than a mother, which I love! She is NOT a horse person, and has no clue when I start talking about bays and palominos, but she supports my love of horses — and has since I was a kid. My aunt is the one who had the horses, which is where I think I got my horse gene. Just last year, when I was 28 years old, I was trying to get my sister, Crystal, to go riding with me. We always ride together, but she couldn’t go with me that day. So, I was planning on going riding at the beach, Montana de Oro, alone like I have done many times. My mom had the day off from work and just asked me, “mind if I go?” I was speechless for a moment…here…my mom…NOT a horse person, never ridden, wanted to go riding with me! I was excited and have the perfect Haflinger mare, Rosie, for her to ride who will take care of her. So we loaded up the horses and headed to Montana de Oro, an 8,000-acre State horse park right on the beach in Los Osos. I took her to places usually only cyclists and horseback riders see, and it was a great day! We were out there for over four hours, and my mom, not used to riding, was sore — but such a trooper! Since that ride, we have gone a few more times and she says she enjoys it tremendously, as do I! It is another great way I can enjoy my love of horses with my mom and see how the horses can make her smile, too. To be able to take my mom on all the trails I have been riding over the last few years has been great. She always hears stories of when my sister, Crystal, and I go riding together, so to finally be able to show her the places is awesome. We have now become even closer thanks to my “kids.” I love you, mom! Thanks for the great memories, with and without my horses. In my book, no mother is better than mine…Debbie Chapman! xoxoxoxox

“What did you do to the horse?…”
Pat Wolff
Arcadia, CA
When bringing home our first mule, the mule began calling to our horses –with her big mule voice! My mother ran out of the house crying, “What did you DO to the horse?!” She didn’t know the new animal was a mule. Actually, that is the only time I have heard that mule bray; she is a very quiet one.

We laugh about it now…
Diana Munday
Norco, CA
Every Easter, I would invite family and friends over for a huge luncheon. My mother was always deathly afraid of horses, but one Easter I think she must have mixed her medications or there was something in the water because we actually got her to agree to sit on Blackie, my pony. Of course, as soon as she was up she started screaming. I know she was saying things to me during her screaming, but I can only guess they were things I should not write here. When my husband, Guy, went to get her down, I remember my mother almost strangling him. She had her arms around his neck, but she would not release her legs from around Blackie. It took me and my aunt to remove her legs as she hung on to Guy for dear life. I do remember a crowd of about 50 people crying because they were laughing so hard, my dad included. My dad ended up getting hit from my mom when she got down. She was screaming at him for not getting her down sooner and for laughing at her. We did get pictures. But I wish I had a video.

A great gift from mom…
KK Dubois
Scottsdale, AZ
My Mom is scared to death of horses…so it’s rather ironic that all three of her daughters ended up owning and raising horses. (I have raised Paso Finos for almost 23 years now). My Dad’s dad (our grandfather) always had horses for us as children and my mother would send us to his farm in Missouri every summer. But she said she just couldn’t stand to watch us as we raced bareback across the open fields. She was terrified one of us was going to get hurt. I am the only daughter who still raises horses and has a passion for showing. My mother is still very supportive and shows my videos to all her friends. She will even visit my ranch and feed a few carrots. So to me, my Mom gave me a great gift…even though she was terrified she allowed us to pursue our passions and enjoy or love of horses. Happy Mother’s Day Mama!

A ride I’ll never forget…
Lori Wilson
Escondido, CA
My favorite memory is years ago when I was in sixth grade. My mom packed a picnic lunch for two girlfriends and I for a day out on our horses. Being in the rural area of southern Oregon, we went riding in the tall pines, tranquil and still, feeling safe and content to be just with our horses. We rode for about six hours;, stopping beside a wonderful stream to eat lunch. My mom had placed a special little note in each of our lunch bags. We read them to each other, laughed, and smiled. Later that evening, I cried as my mom and sister giggled while putting salve on the blister on my bum. I smile now, too. My mom died a few years later. Thank you, mom. I wonder if there will be horses in heaven?

Mom’s pain, my gain…
Lisa Curran
Norco, CA
A story I share with my mother is not a favorite, but is certainly memorable. It all happened on Mother’s Day one Sunday afternoon about 30 years ago while at a ETI Horse Show. O.K. so the class rail work just finished and we were in line-up for announcements of awards. My mother is sitting on the small hill next to arena rail. All of a sudden, a lady comes tumbling down the hill right up to the rail. A gasp is heard from the competitors and audience, I look up — and it is MY MOTHER! Two men go to rescue her while the horse show stops! They try to manuever her, but the arena rail is in the way and she cannot walk as she broke her ankle. At this time, I’m cringing and terribly embarrassed, as the truck pulls in to the arena and they proceed to load my MOTHER onto the truck bed and haul her away. The announcer begins to announce the winners, and while still in shock of what had just happened, tears running down my eyes, they announce my number as first place in the line-up of 20 or so horses. It was a bittersweet day that I will never forget! Even 30-some years later, leave it up to my mom. And, the funny part is she was such a “Lucy,” as in the I Love Lucy show…always, ALWAYS doing something like that! Yikes!

Mom gave me the love of horses…
Jenny O’Curran
Escondido, CA
My mom gave me the love of horses at an early age. She was an avid horsewoman who told me I was born with manure in my hair. She had my sister and I on horses before we could walk…one in front and one in back… out on the trail we would go! My mother fox-hunted and did the open jumpers in her day. She literally rode up until the day she went into a coma and passed away. My favorite memory with my mom was to watch the grand prixs…every one we could get to!

Flip-flops and stirrups…
Julie Arnold
Hesperia, CA
The story that sticks out the most is when mom wore some horrible flip-flops while riding. The whole time, I kept telling her how she is going to get her foot stuck in the stirrups. Well, not even 15 minutes later, she went to get off and lo and behold her stupid flip-flop got stuck, and she went to get down and fell back, right into a fresh pile. She got it all down her shirt. I was laughing so hard I almost wet my pants. We were very lucky that her horse just stood there. She never wore those stupid flip-flops again.

Sharing a miracle with mom…
Lori Hornback
Homeland, CA
Our story started out as a tragedy, but it has turned into a blessed, shared event that has spanned the past nine years. Our young mare, “A Smoking Miracle,” at the time of her birth was torn from her mother by a pack of dogs and was not expected to live. Coincidentally, that happened during Mother’s Day weekend about nine years ago. My mother and I spent many months together nursing this foal to health. She and I have also shared the birth of her first foal a couple years ago, and later this year we’ll watch as he competes in the 2011 NCHA futurity. Now THAT is a miracle that I have shared over many years with my mother.

Mom was only stepped on once…
Barin Butler
Moreno Valley, CA
When I was a child, my mom and dad purchased our first pony, a Shetland named “Mojo.” My mom, who didn’t know anything about horses, was really into it. She used to get up early in the morning to feed and clean with us. The time came to ride Mojo, and my mom was helping us to tack him up. As we all know, ponies can be very mean and sneaky. Little did she know, he had kicked at us, dragged us, and could be hard to catch in his stall. As she was holding Mojo, waiting for us to mount him, Mojo stepped on her foot and seemed to put all his weight on it on purpose. She panicked and snatched her foot from under his hoof. In doing this, he ripped the top layer of skin off, and mom was in the worst pain she said she had ever felt. After several weeks of healing, many trips to the doctor and countless bandage-changing nightmares, she was finished with horses — especially ponies. That happened over 30 years ago, and she still today will only look at horses from afar. Happy Mother’s Day, mom.

A long ride home…
Catherine Brown-Swain
Peyton, CO
When I bought my first horse at age 11, my parents bought me a Paint mare that I named “Nellie.” After the decision was made to buy my mare, my mom began arrangements to have my horse hauled to where I would be boarding her. As no one was available to haul my mare on that particular day — and I was not willing to wait — my mom and I went to pick up my horse. I would be riding her home…miles away, my mom followed me on my horse in her car for miles (and hours). We arrived at Nellie’s new home very late that Saturday afternoon.

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