I could not of asked for such a fun, happy weekend like this one!!
I have ben friends with these sweet girls since I was 12 or 13 years old!!!!!!!!!
Kathy Addy Stevens, Cindy Prichard Henning, Lori Jo giddings and Brenda Pritchard Zolman!
As a little girl I always loved horses! So when I was 10 or 11 my Uncle C..J. and Aunt Theda Sherwood bought me my first horse! I don't remember her name but she was a cute little bay mare. I kept her up the street in our neighbors back yard! I knew nothing about horses... only thing I did know was I LOVE THEM!!
This little mare did not have the best manors and I had no idea what I was doing and this combination just was not the best! So we sold her and by then I knew the horse I wanted! Her name was Angel and she was a cute dapple grey mare!! I think my parents thought it would be better if I bored Angel at a stable where they would feed and I could learn more about horses!!
THIS IS WHERE IT ALL STARTED!!!
Cactus Stables!! This is where I met a few families that became life long friends and that taught me so very much!
The stable was owned by JT Pritchard! JT was one of the kindest, patient, kind spoken older man I ever met! J.T. was every one's grand dad! He loved us and yet could be strict! He always rode a BIG red and white paint horse named Rowdy!! All I wanted to do when I got home from school every day was go to the barn at the stable and ride and be with Cindy and Brenda Pritchard and their brothers! When my mom or dad could not take me to the Stables, my mom and dad would make my sisters drive me to the stable and they would hate to have to drive me! We lived on Lincoln Drive and 44th street and the stable was on 16th street and Dreamy Draw Drive....Now all that land has been sold and the South Point is there in its place. Anyways J.T. had two sons, Jim and Cotton, who lived with their families on the stable grounds as well! I became very close with all of the grandkids of J.T. going to Gymkhanas also with Lori who kept her horse close by. We all would ride our horses out and around as it was called back then Squaw Peak mountain and in the arena of the Western Saddle club! We loved going to Gymkhanas and just riding for miles! I learned to so much from all theses
kids and J.T.!
These years were truly some of the best years of my life! I have so many great memories of the stable! J.T. would often let me ride horses of his, and help wangler at the stables and, saddle horses! J.T. always fed the hundred of heads of horses and mules by a team of horses. I would LOVE when I was able to get out to the stables before feeding time. J.T. would let me drive the team of horses that pulled the hay wagon, as the boys would pitch hay to all the horse to eat!!! I look back on this time of my life and recognize the good clean fun and work I learned from J.T. and the Pritchard grandkids. J.T. had a quadrille team and all of us girls learned to run this! We had a partner and each partnership had matching horses owned by J.T.! It was ran quick and precise, no room for error! We loved to compete! This is where I met Lori a little better and became close with her! Lori and Kathy were the girls that got me on the rodeo trail! Those years were so very fun too!I realize this life kept me out of trouble. I would give anything if my grandkids could live a life like this and enjoy just good clean fun. Times have change I know but I am so very grateful for the knowledge J.T. gave me. What I learned was things I could of never learned from a book!
AND....The very BEST part of this story is...
I met Tom Scheurn when I was rodeoing!!!
The two pictures above are drawings that Lori did for the Pritchard's of J.T.! Lori is not just a cowgirl but an amazing artist!! I could not believe when I saw these! Just perfect in likeness and sweet and tender were the memories of this amazing man!!!
Brenda!
Cindy!
Us girls had such a great weekend here in Strawberry at our cabin! It was during the summer so not quite as green but Lori is always looking for back grounds and things to draw and paint! She loved these "fields of golden" as she called them!!!
Just getting as many pictures as she could!!!
I am so grateful for these girls! I LOVE them so very much! I look back now over forty five years later and still laugh and have the best memories from this time!!
Lori, Kathy, Brenda and Cindy will forever be in my heart and the best of friends forever!!!!
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