Born to Ride

As we just celebrated mother’s day, I wanted to share some insights as to how my mother was a major influence in my life. Both Tim and I had the blessing of wonderful mothers who loved, cared for and taught us many valuable lessons. Some of the most valuable things our mothers taught us, is a strong work ethic, a very solid connection and devotion to our family and a love for working with animals. I would go so far as to say that there may even be a cowgirl gene that my Mom passed down to me. Now whether that is a real thing or not, I am unsure. But one thing I do know for sure, is that neither of my sisters got it.

I started researching when my Mom got her first horse and she was just two years old. Her Dad Jesse bought her a Shetland pony and it was onery like all Shetland ponies are. She was her Dad’s right-hand man working with the cows, farming and the apple of his eye. It seems in the 1930’s it was not common for parents to take their children to school even if they did own a car. So Midge used to ride her horse, Silver, to school every day, which was about 2 miles each way. When her sisters grew old enough to go to school, Jesse built a cart that they attached to Silver to transport the girls. I sure wish I go back in time and see this little cowgirl in action driving the teams of horses pulling the hay wagon.

When I was about 8 years old I started begging for a horse and eventually my parents relented. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of my first horse, but remember she was a Welsh pony named Jill. That began years of riding, rodeoing, and training horses all with my Mom by my side. She was my biggest fan and loved to sit at rodeos recording times and making notes on how I could improve. I have broken a foot, collar bone and cannot count the number of times I got bucked off. That never kept me from loving horses. You see you always have to get back on and show the horse who is in control (even when you want to cry). This is a valuable life lesson and great analogy for when we face trials or tribulations. We must keep getting back up and try again.

I do not remember riding with my Mom except for a couple of times. I think its funny how much she loved horses, yet after having a family, she sat in the rodeo stands and watched her children ride instead. The last time my Mom rode a horse was in Omak in 1985. Tim and I had just moved to live at a friend’s place that had 80 acres for my horses to roam on. My mom rode Skeeter who was one of my favorite horses of all times, and the most trustworthy horse you could have. The fact that I have a picture of that day makes it one of my best memories of my Mom.

As for Tim’s Mom, Aggie, she started riding horses at five years old and continued riding up until she turned 81. Aggie has no doubt seen horse after horse come and go on the ranch and learned not to get attached as her husband was a horse trader. You see ranching does not always allow for the luxury of having animals as pets. On a ranch, they need to serve a purpose and be able to make a profit.

Tim and his sisters all had to learn to ride at a very young age. The Moomaw family would take off early the morning and wouldn’t return until late in the day, when they were driving cattle to and from range units on horseback.

Tim started riding at age 3 on his chubby little horse named Checkers. Tim had to be careful because Checkers loved to steal his jam sandwich, so he would climb up on the rocks to be sure he didn’t have to share. Tim broke his first horse when he was just 10 years old. He remembers naming the horse Apollo, because when he bucked him off he was headed for the moon. Tim continued to break many different horses and then started riding bulls at age 14. He also rode Bareback and Saddle Broncs in High School and started fighting bulls when he was 16 years old. Then in college rodeo is where our paths crossed, and our story began.

A love for horses and riding is something our mother’s instilled in our hearts. I honestly believe it is somewhat innate that Tim and I have grown up on horses and still enjoy riding. One of the reasons we enjoy riding so much at this point in our lives, is because its rarely seems like work and brings us closer to our roots.