The first time we put Madelynn on a horse she screamed her head off. But I suppose when you can barely sit up on your own a horse may be a bit intimidating. Still, we told her what a wonderful time she was having. By the time she was two years old, Maddie was more than happy to be riding a horse, any horse, any time. Anyone who has lived with little girls knows they can have strong opinions; by the time Maddie was three she would only ride the horses “with lots of hair”. And she started asking for one of her own.

Long weekends and school vacations are when the kids come to the farm. Rain or shine or feet of snow, they help with chores. Tyler loves the chickens best, but Maddie could spend all day in the barn. Standing on a bucket or a stool, she could reach the back of the favorite (and only) riding horse, Dana. She got quite good at braiding manes and brushing out feather. She loved Dana, but spoke daily of having her own horse. That couldn’t be Dana, she was EVERYBODY’S horse. HER horse would love her best and be just her size and she would take her for walks and brush her hair and give her baths and give her carrots and buy her pink things and sleep with her love her more than anything in the world! All in one breath!

Even with a barn full of beautiful Gypsy horses, it seems most of us still peruse the horse sites pretty regularly. An ad that Desert Jewel had on draftsforsale.com caught my eye. It stated that a benefactor would pay half the amount a horse was selling for at Jen’s farm; they encouraged people to write letters stating why they would like a Gypsy. They would choose 10 letters that reached out to them in some way and the people would pay the other half of a horse they may not otherwise be able to afford.

Always one to encourage writing, I suggested that 6 year old Madelynn write to Jen and tell her why she HAD to have a Gypsy of her own. I didn’t keep a copy, but it was along the lines of being able to have her own horse to ride and to love and hug and take for walks…Jen called me and said that Maddie’s letter really touched her, and that she was delighted that such a little girl would take the time to write. She offered to donate her half of the horse so that Madelynn could realize her dream. We both feel it’s important to promote the Gypsy as a YOUTH horse, and by sending a horse to us, we would do our best to do what we could towards that goal here on the East Coast. We very much wanted to “pay it forward”, and did, but that’s another story. Jen thought that Amelia would be the perfect choice for Madelynn. BUT, she was in foal and it would be a long wait. Jen sent us pictures, lots of pictures, and Maddie made plans and told everyone about the horse she won. She did extra chores to earn money and started buying pink things for Amelia.

Amelia had a lovely filly foal in the spring, and we waited for her to be weaned. Things were going along as planned. A middle of the night phone call changed all that. Amelia had colicked and needed surgery. Rather than tell Madelynn and worry her, we decided to say nothing about the colic and surgery. Jen offered her another horse. I showed Maddie pictures and asked her to pick one of them. She said she couldn’t because she already loved Amelia and Amelia loved her and would be sad if she picked someone else. So we waited. Amelia came through surgery well and got stronger each day. Jen wanted to be sure she was completely healed and back under saddle before she sent her up to New Hampshire. The story of Amelia and Madelynn had spread; we were invited to bring them into the Youth Pavilion at the Mass Equine Affaire for a demo. I did most of the speaking, but Maddie gathered her courage and did take the microphone to tell a bit of their story.

We were invited to participate in a “Connecting With Your Horse” seminar with Mary Midkiff. Maddie learned to take “marching steps” to help Amelia walk in a straight line with her, and they “marched” all over the EA grounds day and night! Sherrye Johnson Trafton showed her how to hold the lead rope “just so”. I handed it Maddie one day when we were ready to go out for a walk and she said, “No Grammy, you have to do it the BLUE RIBBON way!” Kathryn Pears, “KP” let her sit on King Rocky. Maddie thought that was pretty cool and said she loved Rocky, but that she loved Amelia best because she was HER very own horse. She declared that she was the QUEEN while atop the beloved big guy. KP and I decided she and Megan would have to work that one out! We also decided that Maddie’s nickname was M.I.T. – Megan in training. Watch out world.

While at Equine Affaire Maddie folded blankets and swept the aisle to earn money. Thanks to Deirdre for putting the kid to work and ponying her. Maddie passed by Sherrye with Amelia all saddled up and said her friend was going to be taking her for a ride. Sherrye, wise in the ways of small girls, followed her down the aisle and around the corner where she handed Deirdre the reins and declared ”I’m ready!”. Oh Deirdre, the joys you will have with your little girl! Not only is Amelia’s Maddie’s first horse, but this was Maddie’s first Equine Affaire, and she loved it. She worked hard taking care of her horse, she did a lot of public speaking, became a major fan of the Canadian Cowgirls (complete with autographs and invitations!) and learned that having y our own horse was a LOT of work, which she always did with a smile on her face. Every year on Christmas morning the first thing I did when I got up was look out the window to see if Santa brought my horse. Every Christmas morning when Megan got she went straight to her window to see if Santa had brought her horse. Every morning when Madelynn is here she goes out to the barn and gives Amelia a big hug and kiss, and tells her how much she loves her. When she’s not here, she calls to ask me to do it for her!