More horse pictures

I'm sick. The kids are sick. This has been going on for five days with still no end in sight. I tired and discouraged and sick of being sick, so tonight I am trying to make myself feel better by looking at pictures of some of my favorite horses from days gone by. The horse in these photos is a young Thoroughbred mare I knew for a few months in early 1982."Filly's" registered name was Native Cher and she was sired by Exclusive Native who was also Affirmed's father. That fact alone made me fall head over heels in love with her. She came to Eaton Canyon Riding Club as a privately owned boarding horse, but when her owners failed to pay for her upkeep, she was pressed into service as a school horse. Of course I wanted to ride her. I really, really, really wanted to ride her. I did get to ride her, but unfortunately my ambitions far exceeded my abilities. Filly was very green in a fresh off the racetrack kind of way, and I was completely unprepared to deal with her problems. Our lessons together were a series of disasters. I'm not sure either one of us learned anything, but I continued to love her nonetheless.

As a reward for my persistence, I was eventually allowed to ride her in a schooling show. We were spectacularly unsuccessful. She ran away with me while cantering on the wrong lead in the flat class, and we were disqualified for having three refusals at the first jump in Hunter Hack. I can't imagine what my instructor was thinking. I really had no business riding that horse!

I don't remember what happened to Filly. I don't think I ever knew. Probably her owners reclaimed her. I hope she had a good life and ended up with someone who loved her as much as I did but was actually capable of riding her!