Equine Experiences
Shenandoah and Cinnamon were the first and only horses I had met and grown to know personally. The corral fence that bordered my neighbor Suzy’s campsite was a regular visit in the course of my warm summer days on the pond. Her family rented their vacation cottage and lived in a travel trailer several feet away from the horse corral which housed this pair of gorgeous show horses. Not a bad way to help pay for a small summer home while enjoying the shade of the tall pines and warm breezes of Shady Valley.
As I recall, we’d stroke their shiny coats and on occasion feed them carrots or apples. Shenandoah was a prize-winning Appaloosa who was the pride of the valley. I don’t think we missed a single showing. Mary-Ann would train throughout the week to get her ready for the fair, the Rocky Hill State Fair in East Greenwich being my favorite. She and her sister Nancy would give us the run of the barn. We’d help stack the hay and after would each find a comfortable spot on the neatly stacked bales and socialize, laugh and share stories of what we hoped our futures would bring.
Life was simple back then. We all had the run of the valley, no scheduled play dates back then. As long as we came home when my mom rang her cowbell, we were fine. Sometimes we’d be gone all day getting by on whatever we could find to stave off our hunger. We may help ourselves to an ear of cattle corn from a nearby farm, pick some blueberries across the way, or help ourselves to a stalk of Rhubarb from Dell St. Jean’s Garden. Every so often I’d pay Dell back with a five-gallon bucket of bullhead I’d catch in the channel across the pond. He’d say, “good eating” as he grabbed hold of the wildly fresh overly excited catfish splashing around in the pail.
The small red barn and white corral fence nearby our camp were something I wouldn’t had experienced back home on the blocks of our scorching hot suburban neighborhood. My neighbor Vinny once told me “It was coffee money back then” when reflecting on how he and my parents found our little piece of Heaven on Johnson’s Pond. I don’t think we watched television all summer. With the exception of the occasional trip to the Drive-In movies, I don’t remember any screen time. Summers on the pond were all about interacting with our summertime family of friends in the great outdoors.
Happy camping!
Ron Ash (CEO & Founder at My RV Guy Franchising LLC)