Hi Gary,

I enjoyed the stories on the blog a few weeks ago about my Uncle Jake.  He is the main character responsible for feeding my horse crazed childhood with a hunger for beautiful horses that has lasted a lifetime. Many an afternoon was spent at the table in their modest kitchen on that farm west of Bottineau, with Agnes (his wife) serving up lefse and homemade chicken dumpling soup, while Jake recounted story after story about the races of the past.  Their house was tiny, but it was crammed with trophies won by horses like Nipper Boy and JDee’sJoy. My niece forwarded me a photo of Jake in the winner’s circle which I share with you.  I bet some of your readers know who the other folks in the photo might be…

Jake’s brother, Bill (Linda Gardner’s father) was the first to teach me how to take care of a horse.  And my mom always liked to tell the stories of their Cob horse named “Joker”.  They used to take a sleigh to neighbor parties and dances in the hills.  My mom had a horsehair “muff”, which was a cylinder of horsehair, stuffed with down, and lined in wool, that kept her hands warm as they trotted down the snow covered roads in winter.  Images of the past that are stuck in my brain, handed down from generations of friendly farmers who all loved their animals and families.

I am so grateful for the generous help they gave me as a young girl.  Horses are my life’s passion, and the lessons I learned on their farms are the basic grounding that I still train my horses from today. 

I don’t think people live long enough to really know all there is to know about horses, but the important thing I learned from Jake and Bill was that gentleness, patience, and making an emotional connection goes a lot further than force or abuse.

People can learn a lot about themselves from horses.  

Thanks Gary!