The wee dappled mare
If you are anything at all like I am, you can look back down the road of your life and see that from the time your feet first touch the ground, you were a country girl. For me, it manifested in a love of fields, even if they were only undeveloped lots in the neighborhood where I lived. I filled those vast fields in my mind with animals, magic, friendly, wonderful animals. And the majority of them were horses.
At 13, my father finally made my dreams come true. We moved to a ten-acre homestead, and oh, I indulged my passion for horses from the get-go.
My beloved husband carried on that dream, buying me a sweet, dappled grey mare named Star Story. She was a quarter horse, about 15 hands or so, and so beautiful. By that time, I had children of my own and they loved that little mare, too.
After watching a horse show one weekend, I went home and wrote a poem that stuck in my head. I want to share it with you, because maybe you (or your son or daughter) have those dreams, too.
The Wee Dappled Mare
by Suzi Wollman
I went to a horse show yesterday,
To look upon all of the fine horses there;
There were beautiful bays, and chestnuts and greys,
But my favorite was a wee, dappled mare.
The child who rode her had straight brown hair
And was really quite small (about my own size)
And the mare looked wild for such a child
But the love for her rider showed in her eyes.
The little mare pranced with her feet lifted high
And her velvety ears turned to and fro;
She ran with such speed that she seemed to fly!
She soared over jumps that looked much to high!
How the child stayed upon her I never will know.
And look though I might at the child’s legs and hands,
No clue to control could I find.
The mare seemed to know what the child didn’t show;
It looked as though they had but one mind.
Now the years have gone by with incredible speed
And many fine horses at shows I have seen,
But none can compare to the wee, dappled mare—
And I’ve never been sure that it wasn’t a dream.
It was the week after that show that Jeff surprised me with Star Story. Sometimes, dreams do come true.
Please excuse the quality of this photo; it is very old.