I regularly experience something that only a handful of people in this century ever experience. I ride through the woods on Colonial Spanish horses--the same breed of horse that my ancestors rode through these same woods nearly four hundred years ago.
We work to conserve several strains of Colonial Spanish horses--Bankers (Corollas and Shacklefords), Choctaws, Marsh Tackys--and we work to keep the lineage of the Grand Canyon horses going.
This summer is special--"Choctaw Summer 2019." We have borrowed a stunning Choctaw stallion to breed to our Choctaw mares. Next summer I hope to have a string of Choctaws and very high percentage Choctaw foals born.
The older one gets the more one begins to appreciate the concept of time. If one is lucky enough one can experience the connectedness of doing what was done before, where it was done, and the way it was done.
At such times, one realizes that the concept of "then" does not require one to be resigned to the concept of "was". There are rare moments when "then" and "was" can become "is."
And if we work hard enough, we can create a future in which "is" can become "will be."
Preserving history can become more than an intellectual diversion. It can be a vital tool to connecting us to who we are by understanding who we used to be.
Riding a Choctaw horse anywhere is a wonderful experience. Riding a Choctaw horse in the woods is even better. Riding a Choctaw horse in the woods at night in pitch darkness is a transcendent experience. Riding a Choctaw horse in the woods at night on the remnant of an old Colonial trail allows one to experience then/now and was/is at the same moment.
If you want to become part of preserving yesterday's horses for tomorrow's riders contact me at msindianhorses@aol.com to learn how you can obtain one of these horses and start your own conservation breeding program.
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