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Driving

As a little girl, I
became obsessed with horses. My parents
listened to me beg and beg some more for a horse of my own. They put me
off as long as they could by sending me to summer camp, taking me to the
local trail riding stables and allowing me to ride with horse owning
friends. One of my father’s clients and friends was a man who competed
in carriage driving with his Appaloosas. I was enamored with the
beautiful carriages and the loud spotted horses. Mr. Talley would invite
my father and I to come by his small farm to see his horses. Dad took me
many times to see them. I particularly enjoyed getting a tour of his
carriage house and learning about the carriages. My mother owned an
antique store for much of my childhood and I was introduced to antiques
and appreciating old ways of doing things early in life. Then one day,
my parents agreed to allow me to have my own horse. Once I had saved up
enough money, we went shopping. Where did we go? Mr. Talley’s, of
course. I purchased my first horse, a 2 year old unbroke, beautiful bay
blanketed Appaloosa filly. She was a daughter of Cotrim, a son of Hall
of Fame stallion Colida. In hind sight, it was probably not the best
idea for a green kid of 15 purchasing an unbroke 2 year old mare. As it
turned out, that mare was the best horse I’ve ever owned. That
introduction to Appaloosas and Carriage Driving is where it all started.

JL Talley winning the 1989 Appaloosa World
Championship

JL Talley with one of his Appaloosa, transporting my friend Debbie
Donald on her wedding day in 1984 - photo credit Deborah Donald McClain
Fast forward to 2012 in North Texas. After moving
to horse country in 2010, I was introduced to many different breeds and
disciplines of horses and riding. I met, through mutual friends and
Facebook, two trainers who were Carriage driving and Dressage
trainers. I began taking driving lessons and eventually put a horse in
training with Gene Brown and Sonya Livermore. That horse was Soaking Up
The Sun. He was the only Quarter Horse in their training barn and I was
unsure if he would make the cut. When he did, we put together a pair of
golden horses by training Soaking Up The Sun’s sister, Summer Weekend,
to drive. As time went on, I purchased and drove several ponies as
singles and pairs. It’s a discipline that is much more difficult and
dangerous than it looks. What an adrenaline rush! What a dream come
true!





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