| Can you answer the question in the title? | | | | |
| | | | It was a hard lesson learned. |
| Some fashion magazines, writers and movies | | | | |
| will tell you that diamonds are a girl's best | | | | Horses also taught me responsibility because |
| friend - but not in my case and here is | | | | they needed to be fed and cared for everyday |
| why… | | | | morning and night. Equipment and stables had |
| | | | to be taken care of and cleaned daily. Horses |
| Hi, my name is Linda Shute from New Jersey, | | | | eat hay and we had farm land to raise hay. |
| and here is why riding horses is one of my | | | | This meant harvesting. When I was in my teens |
| greatest passions in life… | | | | sometimes I could be found driving the |
| | | | tractor raking the hay fields or using the |
| As a child I think I was born with horses on | | | | baler, other times I may be on the wagon |
| my brain, they've always been in my life and | | | | behind the baler stacking the hay for my |
| very close to me in many ways. | | | | horses. Then it would have to be transferred |
| | | | from the hay wagon into the barn. |
| Before I was old enough to drive I was very | | | | |
| mobile because of my horses. | | | | Since then I have bought, sold and raised |
| | | | about fifteen horses. One of my favorites |
| My uncle gave me my first pony Trotter, his | | | | was Friday's Anthem. As a girl of sixteen I |
| color was chocolate palomino, he had no | | | | won the "Rookie of the Year" award for the |
| pedigree to speak of just your above average | | | | "Girls Rodeo Association" Eastern Chapter. |
| pony. | | | | One of my prizes was a free stud fee to a |
| | | | quarter horse stallion. I bred my mare and |
| Trotter was very dear to me until I out grew | | | | the colt was born on Good Friday. I named |
| him. He would perform under saddle or in | | | | him Fridays' Anthem. I trained him for |
| harness. I started out riding western | | | | English and Western riding and showed him at |
| because it was the most popular where I live. | | | | local quarter horse shows I eventually sold |
| | | | him for $2500. |
| Sometimes I would ride bareback and jump over | | | | |
| small obstacles in the yard. | | | | The horse shows taught me to strive to |
| | | | achieve more. Observe the competition and |
| Self made fences like two columns of a few | | | | see what they are doing, what does the judge |
| baskets or boxes piled up with a broom across | | | | like, who is being pinned higher than we are. |
| the top. Not much to look at, but creative | | | | Train your horse different get him to |
| enough for an eight year old kid and it | | | | perform different or better. |
| served my purpose besides Trotter didn't care | | | | |
| what it looked like. | | | | A diamond can't teach you that. |
| | | | |
| Mom wasn't to happy a few times when we | | | | I lived in the country and our nearest |
| miscalculated and broke the broom handle then | | | | neighbor was about 3/4 of a mile away. |
| she had to go buy new broom to sweep the | | | | |
| floor. | | | | My relationship to my Horses was the same |
| | | | like that of a close friend. |
| Trotter took me all over, sometimes I would | | | | |
| ride him and we would go out roaming around | | | | They each have their own personalities and |
| for four or five hours we would travel ten or | | | | temperaments just like people. |
| fifteen miles from home. | | | | |
| | | | They show their feelings in their eyes and |
| I would cut through farmers' fields always | | | | ears. If they're having a bad day when you |
| careful to stay on the edge as not to harm | | | | go to the stable you may find a tail in the |
| their crops that were growing. My favorite | | | | doorway instead of a face. When you enter |
| ride in the summer was towards the small town | | | | the stall you may find ears laid back on the |
| of Swedesboro through the peach and apple | | | | neck instead of pricked forward you learn to |
| orchards. | | | | read their body language. |
| | | | |
| A diamond can't take me to the orchards or | | | | They have dreams just like we do. I remember |
| share a piece of fruit with me. | | | | this Standard bred race horse I was taking |
| | | | care of, a trotter named Noble Tryst. He |
| As a small girl of eight or ten nothing was | | | | was good enough to race in The Hamiltonian. |
| sweeter than a fresh apple or peach eaten on | | | | He would take a nap every afternoon he would |
| top of my pony. I would take a bite and | | | | stretch out in his stall and sometimes have |
| give the rest to him, then pick another. I | | | | dreams. He looked like a big dog he would |
| felt like the world was at my finger tips. | | | | kick his feet and make noises. You don't |
| | | | see this very often in horses. I never saw a |
| Trotter gave me freedom to explore the world | | | | diamond with a personality. |
| he fed my sense of adventure. | | | | |
| | | | One day when I was working on the race track |
| Sometimes I didn't feel like riding or a | | | | I was standing in front of this filly and |
| friend would go with me, since I didn't want | | | | yawned. Then the filly yawned, the one in |
| him carrying two us for that long I would | | | | the next stall yawned, and so it went down |
| hook him up to the cart and harness and drive | | | | the length of the barn - just like people do. |
| him. | | | | |
| | | | When you're riding or working a horse and ask |
| The only way a diamond can provide freedom is | | | | for more they will give you their best and |
| if you sell it for a high price and use the | | | | then some. How do you ask a diamond for |
| money to escape from something. | | | | more and receive it? |
| | | | |
| How can a diamond feed your sense of | | | | If you're having a bad day you can wrap your |
| adventure? Now don't get me wrong, I'm not | | | | arms around your horse's neck and hang on to |
| saying I don't like diamonds. They do have | | | | something and they can turn their head toward |
| a big sparkle and look nice. They can also | | | | you and wrap you into their neck like a hug. |
| be very expensive | | | | I'd like to see a diamond do that! |
| | | | |
| As I got older I out grew Trotter and sadly | | | | They'll listen until you're tired of talking |
| had to sell him for a bigger horse. | | | | or crying which ever the case may be. |
| | | | |
| I still remember the person that bought | | | | Horses can be expensive, the initial cash |
| Trotter coming to the house to pick him up. | | | | outlay for the purchase and the ongoing |
| We loaded him into the back of his pick-up | | | | upkeep. Now you can go out and buy a grade |
| truck and Trotter was screaming (whinnying) | | | | horse, buy that I mean your average run of |
| and kicking he didn't want to leave, my heart | | | | the mill un-registered horse for around $500- |
| was being ripped out, yet I couldn't keep two | | | | $1000. |
| animals and I needed a bigger mount. | | | | |