Dixie Dan

by Sally Wallingford    Dec. 15, 2008

Animals provide such a rich dimension to our lives, so I'm relating  a story about a very special relationship I experienced with a horse that I named Dixie Dan.  

Growing up, from the age I can remember (about 3) I was horse crazy.  The milk man, bread man, and rag man used horse-drawn wagons and I would beg my mom to let me feed the horses when they stopped at our house.  (I'm dating myself!).  Anyway, my parents couldn't afford to buy me a horse but I was fortunate that they let me join a local Pony Club, that had their own horses and ponies, at age 9.  I learned to ride and take care of horses through the club and took lessons in Dressage and Jumping from a very early age.  However, I longed to have my very own horse and prayed every night that someday I would get my very own horse.  My family moved around a lot as my dad was in heavy construction - building dams and usually in wilderness areas or in the middle of nowhere.  I spent a lot of time by myself and had various rescued wild pets such as an injured hawk, an injured chipmunk and anything else I could drag home.  Fortunately I had a wonderful dad who was an outdoorsman and wildlife expert and he helped me with my injured pets which I released once they were well.   

In 1954, at the age of 15 we made another move in the midst of a school term to an isolated area in rural New Brunswick Canada where my dad was the Chief Engineer on a dam building project.  I again had to leave my friends behind and try and make new friends.  I was very lonely and again resorted to prayer for God to find me a horse.  

The day of my 16th birthday, dad came home early and said he had a surprise for me.  I jumped in the car with him and we drove about 10 miles from home to a local farm.  It turned out the farmer was a horse trader and he brought out a big quarter horse chestnut gelding and as he brought him out, dad said "Happy Birthday Sally this is your birthday present."  It is hard to express what I felt - a combination of joy, nausea and just plain happiness and yes! God had answered my prayers!  

The horse trader asked me if I would like to try him out and saddled him up for me.  He gave me a lift up (the horse was 16 hands and I was and still am 5 ft tall) and we proceeded to ride around the ring.  I put him through his paces and after about 5 minutes when I was relaxed and enjoying myself, all heck broke loose - he dropped his head and did the biggest buck I had ever experienced and ended up on my butt quite embarrassed at being bucked off.  However, after bucking me off, the horse stood over me snuffing at my hair, acting as calm and quiet as can be and he kept nudging me with his head.  So I got up and asked the guy to help me on again and I had the most delightful ride.  He was so well trained (apparently an old rodeo cowpony) and I fell in love.  It was quite funny because the horse trader thought I wouldn't take him and he had lost a sale, but when I got off I said to my dad - "I want him he is some horse!"  How right I was.  

I should note that my folks did not have a lot of money, and this horse cost $75.00.   I had to save up my allowance for almost a year to buy a used saddle & bridle for $150!  My dad used to kid me all the time about my "valuable" saddle.   

It was a love that was returned to me for all the time I had this horse.  He bonded to me and followed me around like a dog.  I never had to put a lead shank on him and imagine my thrill when he was out in the pasture and I would call him and he would come galloping over to me neighing and prancing, rear up just as he reached me and then blow on my hair and rub his head on my chest.  

However, he was a great escape artist and if I didn't show up at the appointed time, he would jump over the pasture fence and come looking for me.  He would even climb up on our porch and put his big head through the screen door (much to my mother's dismay).  I lived in a rural area about 10 miles from school and on good days I would ride him to school and pasture him at a friend's place adjacent to the school for the day.  If I didn't arrive to get him at 4 p.m., he would jump the fence and come to the school door.  People in our village couldn't believe this horse and he was quite famous since I was the only person with a saddle horse and he was so unusual.  He was always getting into trouble when I wasn't around and I got called out of class many times to come and get my horse who had escaped and was trying to find some company.  

The best story I heard about him was from a local farmer who had to call me to come "git" him!  Because he was an old cow pony, he loved cows and escaped one day to a neighboring farm where the farmer had dairy cattle and Dixie proceeded to round them up.  The farmer was not impressed and decided to put his bull out in the pasture to scare the horse away.  Much to his astonishment, the bull charged the horse, the horse evaded the bull and  then charged the bull and they kept up this game until I came to get him!  

I have so many wonderful stories about him but one of the best was the first winter I had him, my dad dressed  up as Santa and with a borrowed cutter, and Dixie dressed up in antlers, delivered presents to some of the poorer local kids.  He loved that because he got carrots and sugar lumps.  There wasn't a soul in town who didn't love that horse.  He was the star attraction in the Veteran's Day Parade and boy did he prance and dance and show off!  

When I got a new puppy, I used to bring him riding with me and prop him up on the pommel of the saddle and whenever I brought the pup Dixie never bucked me off!  When the pup got bigger he would come trail riding with us and the happiest days I had were when my mom would pack me a lunch and Dixie and Mike the dog and I would go off for the day in the wilderness in New Brunswick, Canada and just hang out for the day.  

There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't think of him and the memories, although  they sometimes bring tears to my eyes, mostly bring smiles.