When we lived in Maine I knew I was going to get a horse, just knew it. We were renting a house on several acres and there was a barn. Daddy would park the Country Squire in it and it smelled wonderful, of hay and animals. I would get home from school and run from the bus to the barn, thinking maybe today was the day my horse will be there, but he never was.
One fall day I was wandering down the hill on the land and Velvet ran off. I thought he had run into the woods, so I went after him and fell over some branches. I was caught in a fence, and when I picked myself up, I saw horse hooves. I was afraid to look up, because I knew there couldn’t possibly be a horse standing there. But I did look up, and there he was, a chestnut horse with a flaxen man and tail. And he was real Right then I named him Chess.
He was my dream secret horse. I would talk mother into buying lots of carrots and apples and then steal them and feed them to him every day. Eventually he would follow me around, trying to get them out of my pocket. I would sit on the ground on a log and he would stand behind me and reach his head over my shoulder. I would give him an apple and he would chew it and dribble apple juice all over me, in my hair.
On the school bus one day, I found out our neighbor was some rich guy who wasn’t around much. In my mind, I knew that like on National Velvet that horse would someday be mine.
One day, I decided to try to ride Chess. I had no saddle, bridle, halter, nothing. I coaxed him close to the fence and got on him. He was so warm, and he was as shocked as I was. He danced around a little and I prayed he would not just take off with me, but he didn’t, he just walked around. Pretty soon, it became routine. I would climb on him and he would graze or wander around the pasture for a while. After that I did it whenever I could, and I went to visit him every day – he was my horse at last.
One day during the winter it was freezing with sleet and snow, and I took off my new gray fleece jacket and put it on his back to keep him warm. Eventually he wandered off into the trees and I never saw the jacket again.
Because of an incident with Velvet, I was no longer allowed to go see him. But one day I snuck out to see him and he was gone. I went back day after day, but he was never there again. I found out later that his owner had decided he was of no use to him and took him to the auction. I pray he found a good home and someone who loved him as much as I did.
Even now, the smell of a warm apple bitten into and juicy brings back memories of Chess, my first horse.