Hope it isn’t too late to join in this…I have two mentors..the first one is my adopted “dad” Bill Arant. Bill taught me so much as a young wet behind the ears girl who was as horse crazy as the day was long. He taught me to saddle, bridle, cinch a saddle in my sleep, and never once did I EVER see this man raise a hand in anger. He wore spurs but only touched his old Saddlebred Red with them, he sang softly under his breath when we trail rode, he was the president of the Nevada Pony Express Reride group and gave me my own 5 mile stretch on my mare Belle to ride as a “male” pony express rider and carried the mail on her, and taught me so much about riding a horse, being kind, getting into their mind to figure out why they acted or did what they did, and he gave me away at my wedding to my high school sweetheart, Mark. So many things I could say about this man, the way he hands laid on the withers of a horse, how kind and gentle he was to an equine, and how proud I was to call him when I won my first blue ribbon with my Percheron mare, Smoke. He passed away at 83 years old a year and a half ago, my heart still aches for his voice, and at times, I still have a hard time with his passing.
My other mentor, who is worthy of being as loved as Bill was, is Bob Brennan. The man has been showing horses for over 30 years, can take a group of Percherons, put them together in a hitch and win a class, he is soft spoken, he too, you won’t find lifting a hand in anger to any draft horse, is patient when I ask him what things are on a plow or a harness, is knowledgeable and has shown me that when you have a great team, you can put their trust in them and they will do the same for you. He has shown me how to handle the lines on my team, how to hitch them properly and with care, safety issues that may come up, and when I go into a class, to smile and be calm but what to know and watch for. Again, so many things I could say about this man, and I can only hope I am half the horse woman and teamster that Bob and Bill are.
