Yeh, I know this has nothing to do with genealogy except my own life--50 years ago. And if you're looking for surnames, all I can give you right now are first names--Smokey, Lady, Buddy, Steel and Thunder (oh, he was a MEAN one!). Ah, yes, the horses that I have known! Recently I have been rummaging through my old scrapbook and such (since I have NOTHING else to to!!!!! :-D) and realized what a precious part horses played during my teenage years. My three girlfriends and I made our pilgrimage to nearby Grand Island, NY, every Saturday morning so that we could go horseback riding at Way-Bak-Ranch--actually just a farm that rented out horses on an hourly basis. And so we paid our saved up money and spent the $.50 an hour that it cost for the joy of climbing up on a horse (no nags, trust me!) and we rode off into the still-rising sun, comfortable in their Western saddles. Oh, the stories I could tell you about our horseback riding days! But unless encouraged, I'll just leave you with a poem I wrote when I was 16 years old (1947) that might give you an indication of what riding a horse meant to me then. TO RIDE To me there is nothing so wonderful now In these crisp cool days in the fall As to ride on a horse through the bright colored leaves And care about nothing at all. To ride all alone at a cantor or trot, Seeing trees and bushes go by In their jackets of scarlet, and russet and gold On a background of azure blue sky. To ride in the morning when dawn is just breaking And birds are beginning to rise, Or ride when the afternoon sun in its glory Is high in the cloudless sky. The best time of all is to ride in the evening There in the autumn’s cool breeze, Listening to crickets and frogs as they sing To the tune of the rustling leaves. Vee L. Housman Scene: Grand Island, NY Written ca 1947 Age 16