Gene and Gabby Ride Again!

For those of you who missed the 1950s, Gene is of course Gene Autry and Gabby is Gabby Hayes. Gabby you would be able to recall if you were around then, had a scruffy beard and no teeth. His favorite perjorative phrase was "Why you young whippersnapper, I'll....." his voice would trail off in strangled rage as just what he would do to the offending young person was always left to the imagination. He was a lovable, somewhat inept, irrascible, grandfatherly type and a fixture in the singing cowboy films for many years. (All of these movies were made in the thirties and were shown Saturday afternoons on TV)

Yesterday, I was saddling up our mare Ebony for Ethan, our three year old grandson, and it occurred to me that I was probably teaching him to ride and in a few years I might be unable to ride and he will be dashing around on this same mare having all the fun, the "young whippersnapper". (It turns out you can be jealous of something that hasn't happened. Darn, another personal shortcoming to try resist.)

As it turns out Ethan has good balance and his short legs dangle in a very stable position so you don't have to hold on to him. Ebony is very good with kids and up until yesterday, the rides consisted of leading Ebony around while Ethan hung on to the loop ontop the bareback pad. Yesterday, Ethan learned how to make her stop and how to make her turn. Ebony will follow you with out a lead rope and I just walked beside the young cowboy and is trusty steed, stopping when Ethan said "whoa" and turning when I saw his hands move. Ebony moved appropriately and just like that Ethan was riding without help. (Wait till his mom reads this. I may screen my calls today.) As his arms get longer, he will be able to give better cues and Grandpa will only have to saddle and keep the red mare out of his way. I imagine next year or the year after. It depends on his growth spurts. He loves the horses and I envy him. As I was watching Gene and Gabby those many years ago, I ached to ride a horse and had to settle for riding the back of the couch.

Consequently, it is a great satisfaction to me to be able to get the interested grandkids up on a horse. It's hard to say what kids will remember. I hope some of these things will be good memories they will carry around for a lifetime. (Unlike the universally and collectively forgotten sleigh ride to get a Christimas tree I worked for days to make happen (I actually built the sleigh) and only lives on as a story I tell to illustrate the vagaries of childhood interests and memories.) "The young whippersnappers...."