Twinkie is my good friend's daughter's pony. She is cute, fat and hairy, like most ponies, and like most ponies she is adored by a little girl. I got to ride with Twinkie and Bailey just the other day and while Twinkie's crow hopping down the lane frustrated the tough little cowgirl on her back, it took me on a trip down a lane of my own, memory lane! My sister's and I were lucky enough to love more than one pony over the years and all of them were fat, hairy and adored!!

Willow was our first pony. She was black and white with the thickest tail and this wild mane that mom made us keep roached. We rode her bareback with a hackamore, sometimes all three of us at once and almost always at a gallop! Willow was the first "horse" we could saddle (didn't use one), bridle (no bit) and ride all by ourselves! She filled us with confidence, taught us to ride and showed us how pure love for an animal could be. A frozen pond took Willow from us way too soon. By the time Mom found her, up to her neck in the freezing water, she was close to death. Mom managed to get enough help from neighbours to get her out of the water and into the barn where we packed loose straw and space heaters around her. Mom and Dad were up with Willow all that night, doing their best to nurse her back to health, this was a pony just as adored by adults and little girls, but by morning, they knew they had to help us find a way to say good-bye. To this day I still believe that Willow hung on just long enough to get a final hug from each of us girls before closing her eyes for the last time.

Missy came along shortly after Willow passed away. She was the epidemy of the fat, hairy, ornery pony! She was brown, shaggy and full of piss and vinegar! If Willow gave us confidence, Missy tested it. If Willow taught us to ride, Missy taught us to "cowgirl up and ride!" You couldn't tell by looking at her, but Missy was ALWAYS starving! Riding her involved being repeatedly yanked out of the saddle with a force much stronger than any 6 year old as there was not a blade of grass she would pass without pulling the reins out of our hands to eat it! Missy also always seemed to be in "heat," which made her miserable to ride with other horses around, especially ones on the other side of barb wire fences. As soon as she'd catch a whiff of another horse, she would take her rider, despite desperate attempts to redirect her, through the dip in the ditch straight to the fence where she'd start pawing. More than once she cut her leg on the barbs of the fence while we were sitting on top of her. Missy knew where the barn was and she was famous for trying to convince her passengers to cut the ride short. Mom had this rule that whenever you came to the driveway at the end of a ride you had to stop your pony and count to 10. This rule was to convice all involved parties that the person holding the reins was in charge. With Missy, you never knew for sure. I can remeber counting, holding for dear life to the reins as Missy danced and pranced, just waiting for me to relax ...fiiive, sixxxxx, se-ven,(shit, I better go faster or this pony is gonna take off...)8,9,10, phew! Nic, being the littlest wasn't always the one in charge, Missy did take her straight into the barn one day at full speed! Thank God she was wearing a helmet or she would have hit her head on the naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling. I will never forget how creepy the whites of her eyes were and I saw them alot. Missy was always rolling her eyes way back into her head especially when she was grouchy, and with Missy, that was a lot. Every spring she would try to scare us by crow hopping. Mom would get on and "tune her in," while us kids sat on the rail fence at the arena and watched. This was a safe perch, one from which we could see the whites of Missy's brown eyes as she engaged in a battle of wills with Mom. As I got older, I learned to fight my own battles with Missy and the whites of her eyes were just as creepy from the saddle as the fence.

I only got to call Missy "mine" for one year. I had to move on to another horse as Aimee got to take ownership of the pony, but it was Nic who rode Missy the longest. My fondest memories are of Nic and Missy at 4-H shows. Nic would enter all of the classes at the shows that she could. She would ride Western Pleasure, Western Equitation and both English Classes. She would sit that "pony trot" like a pro and even mangaed to win a few ribbons against some pretty fancy horses. Nic spray painted and teased Missy's wild mane and forelock and hung a carboard guitar from her neck one year to win a costume class, but the happiest time was the time Nic entered in some gymcana classes at the Regional 4-H show. She was in "flags" against a big quarter horse. The horn blew and the race was on! It was a very comical situation, this little girl on this tiny fat pony taking 3 or 4 steps to every one of the big, beautiful quarter-horse's. Missy was running for all she was worth and Nic was grabbing the flags and dropping them in the barrel but they were behind. The entire crowd began cheering and screaming for Nic and Missy It was so heart warming to hear an entire arena of strangers holler for the underdogs! The race came down to the last few seconds as both teams ran towards the barrel, riders holding the last flag in hand. Nic won by a split second and you should have heard the crowd errupt!

Missy was a part of our family for a long time! Eventually her orneriness became part of her charm and when her spring time crowhopping became comical rather than scary, when her constant eating became a futile effort on her part and we could choose the direction and ending points of our rides we knew Missy had taught us all she could. We sold Missy to another rider who needed a good teacher who, after mastering her lessons, sold her to another student. We managed to keep track of Missy through her long, long life and she gifted many a little girl with love and lessons. Missy passed away only a few short years ago from cushins disease. She will never be forgotten!

I know that Twinkie is teaching Bailey everything she knows and that by the time Bailey is too big for her fat, hairy pony, she will be one hell of a rider!

All of our pony pictures are at mom's so I have posted one of Bailey and Twinkie...adorable!