To Ride A Horse in a Parade.

To ride a horse in a parade is like nothing you ever imagined. My days at Poki Roni Horse Farm with Travis and Mrs. Kirchner, Barbara, Maureen, and all the others were what dreams are made of. We think about the good times when everything was innocent and those were that for me.

Dusty was born in 1985. People would ask me what kind of horse he was and I'd tell them that he was 1/2 Mexican and 1/2 American just like me. His mother, Mid-Night, was sent to me in 1982 from my uncle's ranch in Jimenez, Chihuahua. His father Pagen was a cross bred Thoroughbred horse from the U.S. When my uncle sent Mid-Night to El Paso he said that the rancheros were happy for the mare because she was going to live in the U.S. with papers.

Mrs. Kirchner would help me with Dusty. She taught me to be patient with him. She taught me not to get excited around him because that would upset him. The one time I rode him when it was windy she got upset with me because I had fallen off. She told me it was my fault and that I shouldn't have ridden him on a windy day when there was a chance for him to get scarred of things. She told me he would learn that he would be able to throw me off if he wanted to.

On July 4th, 1987 there was a parade on the East Side of El Paso. The plan was for everyone to wear blue jeans, white shirts, and a red bandanna with a cowboy hat. I guess I didn't get the word so I decided to show up with a black cape, a three cornered hat, some wire glasses, English riding boots, and a flag. My horse was barely two years old. After getting the horses to Hanks High School, and mounting up with all the costumes, balloons, and excitement, there I was, on Dusty, looking like Paula Revere, with a flag to boot. Nobody else had brought a flag so I was nominated to lead the pack--right behind some pickup truck filled with kids, balloons, streamers, and confetti.

I'll never forget Mrs. Kirchner's words. "Everybody who sees you today is going to wish they were you." Those words didn't sink in at the time. I was scarred the horse would throw me; I was hot, and ready to vomit, asking myself, why was I there. The horse was too young to be in a parade and how the heck was I going to carry that flag without my hat falling off. There was nobody there to help me, my friends were riding behind me trying to keep their horses calm. My parents said that maybe they'd go watch later. My boyfriend was jealous of the horses and wanted nothing to do with them. I'm sure Mrs. Kirchner gave me some encouragement. In fact, I do remember people telling me how authentic I looked up there on that horse.

Well, the parade started. Dusty moved forward. Every time that truck in front of us stopped, I prayed to God that Dusty would move forward again. He did. All through that parade that little two year old horse did exactly what he was supposed to do. I'll never forget that ride. It was during that ride that Mrs. Kirchner's words hit me. Every gentleman that we passed in the crowd who was wearing a hat took it off when Dusty, the Flag, and I rode past. It was those people and their respect for the flag, the horse, and the freedom of our country that our forefathers had struggled for, that I will never forget.

Mrs. Kirchner passed away last fall, Dusty about two years ago, and Mid-Night in 1999. But my memories and dreams and the people who were in my life make me who I am. And that is what I hope to pass on to my kids. So may the spirit of Mrs. Kirchner and those horses live on. And of those people who respected the flag that day in 1987.

Life is truly a gift, to God I am thankful.