A Horse Named Anna

I do not know how I came upon my fondness for horses. One time my parents took myself and cousin to a riding stable, I was put on a big grey horse who ran away with me. My parents were terrified, I was hooked. I have been a horse lover ever since.

When I was young my family was fortunate enough to travel from Canada, to New Zealand for a year. I was 10 years old at the time, turning 11 part way through the year there, being from 1974 to 1975.

We lived in Wellington. Some how or another, probably through begging, my parents enrolled me in riding lessons at a stable known as Makara. The road was terrifying to a young person my age, who was use to the flat, straight roads of Alberta. We travelled on a steep hill and there were cars in the ditch. I, of course, thought people drove off the road, but it is more likely people pushed the vehicles off. My father always drove me, and I admired that we always survived the trip on such a road.  Sometimes the rest of the family would come and we would go to the beach afterwards.

Makara riding stables had an outdoor arena, and places to go trail riding. They had quite a few horses at the time. My two favorite horses were Thomas and Anna, but of the two, Anna was my ultimate favorite. She was a grey horse, one that most people would call “white”.  I have no idea what breed of horse she was, it really did not matter, she was beautiful.

Anna was the type of horse I have come to love, not the plod along type, but the type that will occasionally canter when you only asked for a trot. In other words, for a young girl, she was “fun”.

I was certainly not a natural in the saddle, my posture was, and still is, terrible. I love horses through and through, but am far from being a professional. My once a week lessons were more for entertainment, and joy, than actual learning.

You can see that back in those days helmets were not required, and please don’t ask about my hand position! Yikes, I assure you that I have improved.  I am pretty sure I gave my father a hard time for taking this picture and not getting more of this beloved horse, Anna, in it.

Although I rode many horses in later years, even owning some, Anna always remained a special horse in my heart. In fact this horse was so special to me that when I had a child, I named her after the horse.  She thinks it’s funny, but trust me, it’s an honor.

Please Read my other True Pet Stories

Niska, Finding an Old Horse

Raising a Pet Sheep, the First Year

Fox Attack, Before and After

Aggie the Wonder Donkey

I would like to dedicate this true story to my parents who were great enough to allow me riding lessons (even though I sucked) and especially to my father for taking me there every week.