Lindsay's Birthday....... About Promises......

Part 1



I remember when Lindsay first asked me if she could ride Aana I had to explain  to her the mare had little experience under saddle. She just did not have the kind of miles it would take to be safe for a rider as green as Lindsay. Not only that but the mare had not been ridden in all the years she had been here. I didn't know if Aana could handle this change or not.

Lindsay's response to this conversation was a simple, "Oh." Her face didn't portray anything readable. I didn't know if she was disappointed or totally accepting. She walked off and I thought it was the end of it.

Months later I was working with BG and he told me Lindsay had asked him if he would put some miles on her horse. He had told her he would if it was OK with me. I was surprised to hear that Lindsay had asked this relative stranger to ride her horse when she hadn't really asked me. Lindsay is usually so direct in what she wants or needs.  I hadn't realized riding Aana was that important to her so I gave my permission but I had some concerns.

As it turned out my concerns were appropriate but not for the reasons I thought. Although BG made this promise to my impaired daughter, the gesture was not sincere. Despite his and LF's claims they "are all about the kids" this promise was just one more piece of the web used to trick me into believing I could trust them when they really had ulterior motives.

Of course it took a while for this to be understood. The days, weeks and months went by and no work was done with Aana. Lindsay dejectedly mentioned  to me one late summer day that BG had not done as he had promised. My heart broke at the disappointment in her voice.

By this time I was beginning to suspect BG could not be trusted. I explained to Lindsay that both of us had probably placed our trust in someone who didn't deserve it and that I doubted he would follow through no matter how much he smiled and laughed with her in the grocery store.

It was a hard lesson for Lindsay. She struggled with the disappointment for months. I hoped I would get the chance to at least evaluate the mare to see if Lindsay's dream of riding Aana was at all possible.

The following year I spent most every waking minute working on the lawsuit to get Storm back from BG and LF. Because of the way his claims of work done were made, I felt it was necessary to not advance the training of any horse I owned except for Legs or Dandy. Aana's green status was important to maintain so I could prove he was lying.

Poor Lindsay was caught in the cross fire but I promised her I would make it up to her. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be any time soon. By the time I got the rocks picked from the back field and had it prepped for riding, I was struck down by cancer. Lindsay's dream again derailed right along with mine.

It was two days before Lindsay's birthday last year when I was released from the hospital. My 5 foot 10 inch frame carried only 125 pounds of weight and I had two gaping holes in my abdomen. My condition warranted going to a nursing home but instead I came here under the care of a home health care nurse.

I have mentioned before, but never given details, that there were those who saw my weakened state as an opportunity for exploitation. I am still not ready to share all the details of those situations except for how it relates to Lindsay. Once again an opportunist saw my disabled daughter as a pawn to build trust with me. This young woman promised Lindsay she would put miles on her horse but it was nothing put a ploy and Lindsay's dreams and her faith in humanity were dashed again. By this spring Lindsay had all but given up the idea of ever riding Aana.

To be continued.......

Hope Hanging........