I remember thinking my mom was the best horseback rider in the WORLD.  If my Shetland pony would not let me catch him, she would catch him by his tail.  If my Welch pony ran away with me, she would ride him and make him mind.  My mom always took the worst horse and I never remember seeing her hit the ground.  She even had a horse named Dolly May, because “Dolly May Buck”, you just never knew.  My mom, Marsha Smith, has seen me cry from hitting the ground, make mistake after mistake, and let me make horrible decisions because I was not going to listen and needed to learn them on my own.  Those hard lessons have now proven themselves to be invaluable. 

Now that my mother is getting older, the only riding she does is on my horses.  Now, I take the worst horse and if one misbehaves I get on and handle the situation.  Our roles have switched, but I owe everything to my mother.  Her grit and passion allowed us to have horses throughout my childhood.  Her passion is evident today as she honors my deceased niece, Katelynn Marie Vaughn, by caring for Santana, Katelyn’s Arabian horse.

Written by Brandy Von Holten