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 My
brother, Adam, and I with our parents on our 13 acre "Pine Top Farm" in
Huffs Church, Pennsylvania. We moved from the suburbs of Philadelphia to be
in the country.
My grandmother once said
to me, "The farm was like Heaven on earth to them".
Our family also had many
different animals and bred and showed several breeds of dogs, one of which I
am trying to hold in this photo. |
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 My
first pony on our farm, I think I called him Brownie, short for Charlie
Brown. I was 7 years old.
Our dad died on his way
home from work shortly after this photo was taken in a motorcycle accident
caused by an alcohol intoxicated tractor trailer driver.
We had a foster brother
about this time whom my parents were planning to adopt. |
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 One
of my first shows riding a lesson pony in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania.
Several names come to mind, maybe "Lissy", but I think "Timmy",
it's hard to tell from this picture, and this particular farm had many
chestnut ponies!
My mom was determined to keep me riding. I
have a box full of faded ribbons and memories.
My brother also took
lessons for a while. |
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Our grandmother continued my riding lessons after our
mom and aunt died in an auto accident caused by a fast young driver intoxicated
with alcohol and drugs.
This was a wonderful lesson pony named Holly I rode and
showed with in Ashford, Pennsylvania while living with my grandmother. I was 10
years old.
Our Pine Top Farm had to be sold as my grandmother
could not keep it up.
"Gram" became my
brother's and my legal guardian. She found us suitable related young
families for us to live with, but I believe she mourned everyone's inability
to become our original parents. It would have been preferable to all of us
if drunk drivers never had the totally inaccurate and deeply devastating
irreversible thought that they could drive. |
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 My
horse, Flapjac, at a Horse Trials in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania.
I actually bought this
horse in North Carolina when I was 18, with the help of my current husband
(boyfriend at the time).
The organizers waived the
jacket rule for the stadium phase this day because it was very hot,
otherwise I would have worn one. |
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 The
cross country phase with Jack in another horse trials.
I went on to do more
advanced schooling in Leesburg, Virginia and clinics and training in
Southern Pines, North Carolina but I regret no one was there to take photos.
Jack was sold after Jon
and I married and started a family of our own. |
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 Our
mom, Eileen, riding her horse Fanny at our Pine Top Farm.
This is the only photo I
have of her riding as an adult. She was intrigued with Dressage and Combined
Training. She volunteered at horse shows with Aunt Dot so they could watch
and learn.
Our dad, Kenny, built the ring. As I remember, the
holes were dug by hand with a two-handled post hole digger and a shovel. |
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Our grandmother, Gram, on
a trip to the beach in New Jersey to go riding with a girlfriend. She
told me they would take the train from Philadelphia, ride all day on the
beach and then take the train home.
She didn't know whose car
this was, her friend requested that she stand in front of it for the
picture.
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 My Aunt Dot was an
avid horsewoman who preferred Hunter/Jumper style riding. She shared half of
our family farm and as a little girl I was in awe of the loaded floor-to-ceiling
bookshelf in her dining room. Aunt Dot was a children's advocate and Social
Worker, although had no children of her own, would bring kids home with her many
weekends to experience farm life.
On
days not suitable for riding, I could find her curled up on her couch
with a book in one hand and a freshly baked home-made treat or half gallon of Breyer's ice cream in the other,
usually butter pecan. She gave her spoon to me while she turned the
pages. Sadly she died in an auto accident with my mother. In this photo Aunt Dot is riding our Fanny's
filly, Dancer.
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