College kids remind me of a time when I was free
I’m almost a halfcentury old. My daughter is 22 and in college. She thinks about two things and two things only ... barrel racing and becoming a chiropractor so she can work on barrel horses and her fellow barrel racers.
It doesn’t take much thinking to figure why she does the things she does. It’s either she’s going to a barrel race or going to look for a cheap barrel horse. She a tightwad just like me, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, in that regard. It’s almost a sport when me or my wife call to see what she’s been up to.
I can remember buying and selling horses when I was in college. I’d buy a good broke horse, rope on it for a couple months and sure enough, without even trying someone would want to buy it. I made good money doing that and didn’t have to work a minimum wage job in college.
My daughter is kind of the same way. She’s bought and sold just about every do-dad a barrel racer needs since she’s been in college. She makes a little extra and has done a pretty good job of keeping her money together.
She found a grey horse on the internet the other day and was all excited. I took one look at a picture of the horse and said NO. Her mom tried to be a little more political than me. A few minutes later her best barrel racer buddy looked at the picture and said he’s UGLY.
That dang horse could eat feed out of the bottom of a 55-gallon barrel and look at you while he did it, to say he had a big head is an understatement!
“Oh, but dad he runs in the one D,” my daughter said.
I thought to myself, maybe, if he was running against a bunch of plow horses, still hooked to their plows he might run in the one D.
This evening, she said she’d found a good deal. This horse is a bargain at $5,000. The only problem is he has to have all four knees/ hocks injected. I told her she ought to take cash and offer $3,500. That’s a fair price for an older sure enough crippled up horse.
Secretly, I thought to myself he probably isn’t going to buck her off when she only comes home twice a month to ride it. As far a I’m concerned that’s a safer bet than some ex-race horse that’s barely broke. Twice a month riding on those types is a recipe for disaster in my book.
Her little car gets good mileage and she can come home and go back to school on a tank of gas. It reminds me of when I was in college and had my pickup and a one-horse trailer. I’d drive all night to come home after a rodeo.
My mom always had a good Sunday dinner. I’d eat a good meal and head back to college with some leftovers. Those were the days. I was as free as I’d ever be in my life. Not many bills, not much responsibility and worst of all not much money, but dang it was fun.
I wish my knees didn’t hurt and I was skinny as I was back then. Shoot, I might just hit the road with her and go enter a rodeo.
The Bible says not to live your life looking back at the good old days. That’s a lot easier
The grey horse.
said than done when you’ve got college kids. I still wish I could do it again.
EDITOR’S NOTE: James Lockhart lives near the Kiamichi Mountains in southeast Oklahoma. He writes cowboy stories and fools with cows and horses.