The Big Hill and the Wise Old Horse

Pictured: author on one of her first dirt bikes with brother in stroller
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What am I wearing? Bowling shoes? Were we that broke?

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There was a hill behind our neighborhood, the neighborhood my uncles built in a rural town in upstate New York. There was a cavernous shale pit at the opening to the hill where we would do extreme dirt biking and where Scott Roloson gouged my head with a piece of shale, scarring my naturally good looks. Well, OK, not that bad, but still....

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Anyway, the hill. The hill rose at the back of our neighborhood, had a long flat top to zip across, wound down through some woods and came out around the Van Fleet's neighborhood. We would ride dirt bikes and snowmobiles on this route, as well as our neighbors horses.

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With the horses, though, we usually had problems. Most often, flying across the flat top, everyone would go faster than I, arriving at the woods early.

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They'd wait and soon spot my horse coming over the hill, galloping full speed... with no rider.

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Those contrary ponies would always throw me off. And one time I remember as we descended the steep back hill, me and my saddle just slid right off the front of the horse's head. In reflection, I wonder why I wasn't trampled?
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But my favorite story from The Hill would have to be one in which my parents went out for a romantic ride. Mom saddled up Clara's horse, Jamie, a real old timer, and dad rode another. Mom recalls that they decided to race across the flat top, a little friendly competition. It was going so well, they decided to forego the break they usually took at the woods opening and just keep racing down into the woods. Jamie suddenly reared to a stop and went flat, shook mom off & sprawled out on the ground.

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Dad entered the woods to find mom circling the flattened horse and screaming "I've killed Jamie!!"

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Chaos ensued and then, after a brief rest in the shade, Jamie carefully stood up, much, much, much to mom's glee. She did not want to tell Clara she killed her horse. Mom and dad turned around toward home and mom walked Jamie all the way back home, worried he was hovering near death.

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Dragging back into the corral, mom told Clara's husband Cal what happened. Cal let out his famous belly laugh, laughed hilariously and said,

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"Jamie does that a lot when he doesn't want a rider!"