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Memories of younger days!

Old friend Leon with a couple of his young stock and myself astride Sunny Bright Eyes on Silverbrook Ranch Middlebrook, VA

It's sure been a long hot time here this year and putting in 12-14 hours days in the barn since winter but getting the training horses thinned down a little bit and some going home now since I will to be gone most of Sept. I'm trying for a little more time for my own horses before that happens and will get back at it the end of Sept.

I ran across this  old photo in my files and it brought back some great old memories of younger times . Leon and Sunny Bright Eyes are both gone now, Leon was a friend I would ride with to get miles and experience on all our young stock. Leon was a Vietnam vet and had lost a leg in that war and it never slowed him down that I know of except this day. He and both his horses went over backwards and down in a steep ravine, and when the dirt settled and got down to him, horses and Leon seemed to come out of it  just fine but Leons artificial leg was still in his stirrup so that had to be rescued once his gelding was caught and help him get that back on and off we went again. That adventure gave us many a chuckle he loved to tell about it for many years after.

We rode often at Silverbrook Ranch which was owned by Helen Kleberg Groves of the King Ranch, Texas and was 5000 acres of rolling VA hills  and she would let us take our horse there to work . Every year she had a big horse sale and cutting event we were invited too.  With many old well known names of the times most don't know of or heard of  these days like Buster Welsh, Calvin Allen and the list could go on forever.  I sure dreamed of owning a lot of the horses that were run through those sales, but that was a very poor living back then  being a female trainer but it was my choice and it sure taught a gal to be tough in that country. 

Sunny Bright Eyes was a Two Eyed Jack X Eternal Sun bred Quarter horse I  used for everything like Bubba,  cattle work, showed hunter pleasure, English pleasure, trail, reining , anything side saddle. We used to be invited to Frying Pan Park to do a side saddle reining demo as entertainment for the DC politicians  while they were wined and dined  as fund raising event  for the American Horse Protection Association. 

Good Friends and Great horses sure make time gone by  special!