WHEN I AM AN OLD HORSEWOMAN
Written by Rocky Mountain Woman on April 11, 2011 – 12:09 pm -Linking up to Jenny Matlock’s Alphabet Soup. If you would like to join in the fun, please click here http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/
I posted this in the original Alphabet Thursday for “H”. I just love this poem, however, and think it is time for a reposting!
This poem by Patty Barnhart was originally published in the Arabian Horse World magazine in 1992 when I was just getting into showing Arabian Horses. I loved it when I was a young horsewoman and I love it even more now that I am an old horsewoman. Here it is with my photographic comments…
When I am an Old Horsewoman
When I am an old horsewoman
I shall wear turquoise and diamonds,
And a straw hat that doesn’t suit me
And I shall spend my social security on
white wine and carrots,
And sit in my alleyway of my barn
And listen to my horses breathe.
I will sneak out in the middle of a summer night and ride the old bay gelding,
Across the moonstruck meadow
If my old bones will allow
And when people come to call, I will smile and nod
As I walk past the gardens to the barn
and show instead the flowers growing
inside stalls fresh-lined with straw.
I will shovel and sweat and wear hay in my hair
as if it were a jewel
And I will be an embarrassment to all
Who will not yet have found the peace in being free
to have a horse as a best friend
A friend who waits at midnight hour
With muzzle and nicker and patient eyes
For the kind of woman I will be
When I am old
xxoo,
Rocky Mountain Woman
Posted in She Rides | 65 Comments »
March 11th, 2010 at 9:42 am
what lovely pics to go with the poem. i esp like the wearing a straw hat and diamonds part
March 11th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Hi there, thanks for the visit to my blog…I do live in So. Central Utah..Wayne Co. We live about 15 no. of Capitol Reef National Park. I love Park City, my grandpa lived there and we went there so many time..before it got to be the way it is today. Love it there! I love your blog, looking through it…I love horses too, loved this poem..We have horses and I love “everything”about them…the smell, the touch, their muzzles, the smell of the saddle when we are out riding!
I am a dreamy Pices, loved that night mountain shot! I love Market St. Grill too…YUM! My sis was a Arabian horse trainer..Ali Judy, she had the most gorgeous stud…”Golden Ali”,,,lover chestnut with a blond main and tail and all his babies looked just like that too. Well, come say hi often, I am going to put your blog on my blog list!
March 11th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
I know your sister and I remember her stallion.
She trained for a while from the barn where I kept my stallion. He’s a son of Nariadni and she always admired him. He isn’t a stallion any more, but I have some cute babies out of him. As a matter of fact, the picture of the baby running at the bottom of my post was his last baby.
Nice to meet you! I’ll be back to visit…
March 11th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
That poem touched my heart in a major way and I don’t even have a horse. I think it’s something to do with the idea of being free to be whatever kind of character you want to be. Beautiful – thanks for posting it!
March 11th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Thanks, it’s been a favorite of mine for years.
Here’s to freedom!
xxoo
Rocky Mountain Woman
March 11th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
i read this and immediately thought of my aunt—this is HER!
truth be told
i think everyone should spend all their money on carrots and wine!
March 11th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
I bet your aunt and I would get along….
March 11th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
great poem and great photos to go with it
I would definitely like to be that person when I get old but I don’t know about owning a horse
thanks for your visit
March 12th, 2010 at 6:50 am
Horses are really a life style commitment, but, in my opinion, worth it!
March 12th, 2010 at 7:53 am
Your photos are lovely!!
March 12th, 2010 at 7:54 am
I love this post so much…the pictures you show and the pictures in my mind as I read it…I want to be this woman when I grow old too!
March 12th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Oh…
SIGH
right back, my new found friend…
SIGH indeed
Glorious.
March 12th, 2010 at 8:04 am
Oh, how sweet…..
Thanks!
March 12th, 2010 at 8:05 am
There’s really something magical in the relationship between woman and horse….
Thanks for stopping by…
xxoo
March 12th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Such a beautiful post. Love the poem, and the pictures are amazing.
March 12th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Thanks for stopping by. I loved your site!
March 12th, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Loved this take on the purple poem. Yes, when we get to a certain age, I think we should be able to do whatever we want.
March 12th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
oh i loved this!
thanks for stopping by food for thought, i hope you can find the time to join in, every other saturday, love to see what you are reading~
you asked about kindle, mine was a gift and i wasn’t sure how i would feel, but once you start reading you are so quickly lost in the story you don’t even notice you are clicking the pages! i do LOVE instant gratification when you want you a new book, there is seconds is humbling!
March 12th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
I’ll certainly try to stop by on a Saturday. I feel like we are kindred spirits! Your site is amazing….
March 12th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
It’s great, isn’t it? I love the purple poem also. The best part about getting older is the freedom it brings. Now, the achy joints, those I can do without!
March 12th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Thanks for your visit to my Haiku blog…so love the poem and the horse pictures…ride on:-)
March 12th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
What a beautiful poem. I don’t have horses, but this certainly speaks to me. Thanks for stopping by. Definitely plan a trip home, this was the best thing I’ve done for myself in a very long time. It was wonderful to reconnect!
March 14th, 2010 at 3:47 am
What a great poem and photo accompaniment. A real treasure.
March 14th, 2010 at 10:20 am
lovely poem, and wonderful photos … i’m still waiting for the pony i asked Santa for when i was 6 … there is not much on this earth as beautiful as a horse.
March 14th, 2010 at 11:22 am
Hi,
I just found your wounderful blog. Keep up the good work. check out my new blog at
blog.gfdiner.com
take care
kathy
March 14th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Thanks for stopping by!
March 14th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
I love Haiku. I tried my hand at poetry once and then decided I liked reading good poetry better than making bad poetry. I love your blog!
March 15th, 2010 at 1:19 am
I love this post. The poem, the photos. Just absolutely wonderful!
Thank you for sharing this for Alphabe-Thursday H.
A+
March 15th, 2010 at 6:00 am
Thanks for stopping by..
Love your blog!!
March 26th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Sorry to arrive late. This is a terrific post. Love the poetry and the photos of these horses.
April 13th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Stunning pictures and beautiful poetry!
April 13th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
I love it.
I haven’t been on a horse for many years, but other people’s horses were a big part of my youth.
April 13th, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Somebody must love horses to have written such a lovely poem . I enjoyed that!
April 13th, 2011 at 2:21 pm
I loved it again..and I am that old woman too! ;D
April 13th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
how neat…
welcome sharing your poetry with poets rally…
beautiful talent.
April 13th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
Oh I love this…your photos are wonderful with the horses & moonlight…wonderful poem, sentiment & illustrations. Thank you!
April 13th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
What a wonderful blending of pictures and words!
April 13th, 2011 at 5:17 pm
That is a wonderful poem, and your pictures are perfect!
April 13th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
And I’d love to come along! What a wonderfully inspiring post RMW!
April 13th, 2011 at 10:24 pm
What a great poem
The photos go wonderfully with the words too!
April 14th, 2011 at 12:06 am
Good morning sweet friend
I so loved this post of yours today. Wish we could all be as free as this poem suggest us to be. By the way I love this poem too….it is you!
Miss my horses and all the wonderful bliss they brought to my life.
Now I am catching up on your other writing.
Thanks so much for your get well wishes. I so appreciate you
Love
Maggie
April 14th, 2011 at 3:52 am
What a lovely poem and your photos are exactly right! I really, really need that hat!! (even though I’m not an old horsewoman)
April 14th, 2011 at 4:03 am
What a wonderful poem. Your photos are amazing, Barb.
April 14th, 2011 at 5:58 am
Love this … My dad was a lover of all horses and I have a brother who is just like him! Two of the horses we had as kids lived to be an old age .. my brother actually took them to his farm … Three generations of babies sat on those horses … and two generations of kids learned to ride on Rocky and Junior! Thanks for stirring up my memories.
April 14th, 2011 at 7:38 am
Wonderful. The photos go with it perfectly too.
April 14th, 2011 at 9:24 am
FANTASTIC!!
Word and photos. Just perfect.
=)
April 14th, 2011 at 10:09 am
This is really wonderful–poem and your photos!
April 14th, 2011 at 10:31 am
th essence of your post resonates with me… freedom means a lot to me and your accompanying images are great. Cheers to wearing funny hats or whatever move you!
April 14th, 2011 at 11:18 am
Great post, Jenny’s Alphabet Soup is great fun to see the different ways people play with the letters.
You have some fun things going on in your blog space, thanks for sharing and your kind comments on my post earlier.
April 14th, 2011 at 11:26 am
What a wonderful post – thank you for stopping by so I could find your beautiful blog :+)
April 14th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Oh, what a divine post! Wine and carrots are my favorites!!
April 14th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
Wow, these photos are so amazing they should be in a magazine–pure splendor!!!
XO
April 14th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Best. Retirement. Plan. EVER. I’ll bring the wine.
April 15th, 2011 at 2:31 am
The photos are just outstanding, and the poem says what I’ve hope to be when I’m old..
April 15th, 2011 at 7:05 am
Lovely poeme, I would replace “horse” by cats but and only have to clean the litterbox. Unfortunately they are not to be used for riding !
April 15th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Beautiful poem! How good to be free of what others might think!
April 15th, 2011 at 7:31 pm
I love your writing and though I am not a horsewoman, I am a dog gal. They are my companions.
April 15th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
Ok….I just realized that you said it was written by someone else….ha. I guess I skipped that part the first time through and jumped to the poem. Whoops!
April 15th, 2011 at 7:39 pm
Beautiful and dreamy. Love the hat too!~Ames
April 16th, 2011 at 7:54 am
This is magnficient. And it made me cry. I hope this dream comes true for you in 30 or 40 years! Why do I not doubt it will? Because you are everything you write about.
What a totally wonderful link to Aphabet Soup this week.
I am enchanted.
A+++++
April 18th, 2011 at 7:42 am
What a beautiful post; the pictures, the poem, the wisdom that comes with aging. Thanks for sharing the simple beauty. (But, you are not old!)
April 20th, 2011 at 1:36 pm
I have the When I’m an Old Woman poem hanging in my Breckenridge house. I bought it when I was young and now that I’m old, think maybe I AM that old woman! I love this horsewoman one and your photos are awesome. The moonlit pic and the running foal are my favorites.
April 23rd, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Enjoyed your little poem and wonderful pictures.
You must think I’m nuts. I had you mixed up with someone else…now I’m trying to remember her blog name. Maybe something like Colorado Lady??? Anyway, she’s living in Texas and would rather be in Colorado like you.
February 15th, 2013 at 5:04 am
I LOVE this post. You did a beautiful job with it. My daughters rode horses. They are such magnificent animals.
February 15th, 2013 at 6:51 am
Peg,
Thanks! I have been enthralled with them for years, it’s been such a wonderful part of my life…
xxoo,
RMW