I was eight years old when my heart’s desire was fulfilled. I remember the day clearly and it was a clear day. My parents and little sister, Judy, arrived at a boarding stable to check out a small kid-friendly horse. Actually he was three inches shy of being a horse, half Shetland and half Quarter horse gelding with ability of the latter and the sturdy body of the former, and he was eight years old just like me.

I remember we bought Cocoa that day for $156. He was named for the dark chocolate color he became when he first lost his winter coat; but Sandy would have been more appropriate - that’s the color the sun turned his hair within days. As promised, he was a fabulous kids’ horse and he became my favorite pet as we grew up together. Soon after the purchase of Cocoa, my family bought my sister a pony named Shawnee, and we spent many days that summer riding on my grandparents’ farm in Keller.

Like so many horse families, we began attending playdays and when we moved to South Arlington in 1970 and were able to keep our horses on our own land, we joined a new 4-H Club called the Arlington High Riders. As I ponder on those wonder years they are a blur of weekend horse shows, drill team practices and 4-H meetings. In my reflections I also recall riding with a herd of neighborhood kids to a hard dirt road that was later to become Interstate 20 to hold horse races, and then on to Lake Arlington for a quick swim with the horses. It was a simpler time then with fewer worries and less traffic.

Though my sister and I graduated on to many bigger and more athletic horses through the years, Cocoa was always there, steady and true. My early teen years were wrought with emotions and the desire for independence. Many dark evenings I would walk out to where Cocoa was grazing and jump on his back without saddle or bridle, lay with my head back on his rump and gaze at the stars. Eventually Cocoa would walk back up to the gate and stand there waiting for me to dismount. It was very therapeutic.

At age 16 I met Jeanine who would become my life-long best friend. She lived several miles away, but with one phone call she would saddle her mare, Lady, and we would meet halfway to begin our day-long trail rides and girl talk.

When Cocoa and I were 21 years old, my parents decided to sell him to a family that needed a good kids’ horse. I was away at school and my interest in horses had wandered in other directions. I was heart-broken and remember sobbing as I gave him one last hug before they hauled him away to his new home.

A child never forgets their first horse or the horse sense learned from it. Not only does the horse represent power and freedom - it has great side benefits. Riding is excellent physical exercise and improves balance and coordination. As a child progresses in their skills it boosts their confidence and gives them their first sense of being in control. Taking care of a horse teaches responsibility and prepares a child to love and care for others. Horses teach children the importance of loyalty, as well as organizational skills and patience, all life-lessons in doing one’s own personal best.

Our county is full of kids like this. I’ve personally met and photographed dozens of them for the Lone Star Horseman. They have all been polite, sweet kids who would rather spend the afternoon riding and caring for their horse than in the house playing video games.

It’s been many years now since I’ve owned a horse, but I still enjoy being around them. I am so grateful to my parents for indulging a little girl’s fantasy and for all the lessons my first horse, Cocoa, taught me. He was a good, good horse and an even better teacher.

“Horses and children, I often think, have a lot of the good sense there is in the world.” ~Josephine Demott Robinson