The Little House

I do not own as many houses as John McCain. My wife and I only have two. We have our residence where I eat and sleep and the Little House, the base of our operation and educational programs. My residence is about 40 years old and the Little House is about 140 years old. My mother was born in the Little House and she died in my residence. Mill Swamp Indian Horses is a Century Farm which means that it has been in our family for more than 100 years. I own a portion of the farm which belonged to my mother's parents and my wife and I bought the Little House about 2 years ago. It adjoins the horse lots. The Little House is old but my family is older. If one would stand on the porch of the Little House and draw a circle 20 miles all around, one would be circling land upon which a relative or two of mine could be found since the 1600's.
I lived in the Little House until I was about 5 years old. In the yard of the Little House Daddy taught Tonka, my first pony, to lay down so I could mount up. I started riding him when I was nearly three and could not mount from the ground.
The edges of the land are covered with Mimosa trees. Grandaddy Horace planted one beside his hound pen to shade the hounds over fifty years ago. From that one tree has grown hundreds of Mimosas. I hope that from my little riders will grow hundreds of future riders.
The Little House has air conditioning, TV and a VCR, a significant library of books on Indian history and natural horsemanship, and a refrigerator that will hold gallons of ice water. In short, it is everything that we need for our educational programs in the heat of the summer. Kaye Kerr, a talented art teacher, is teaching several of my riders how to paint horses. They are creating beautiful art that will be sold to benefit the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.
After the the 46 mile ride on September 20, parents and friends of my riders prepared more than a cook out. It was a feast. The yard and the Little House were both filled with worn out, hungry riders who were very proud of themselves. My mother would have been proud of them too.