November 2020 FRC Member Newsletter

Member Memories
With Stephanie Gibson
My Life With Horses
My very first discovery of the world of horses happened innocently enough at 4 years old
when my grandmother took me to a horse show that her friend was holding at her barn.
One look at the horses jumping , the attire the riders wore and those amazing side saddle
ladies and I was hooked. From that point on I was always hounding my grandmother to go
see horses. She ran a resort in Flat Rock, NC nestled in the mountains and the woods. We
walked daily to the post office and my biggest thrill was to feed the palomino pony, Trigger,
and the percheron mare, Nell, a sugar cube as we passed their farm on the way. My
grandmother’s friend was Betty Marvin or “Miss Betty” as everyone called her. She ran
the Fleetfoot Pony Club in Hendersonville, NC. It wasn’t long before
she allowed me to ride there every once in awhile and participate
in a Pony Club meeting here and there.
I finally convinced my parents to let me take riding lessons at
Foxcroft Farms here in Greenville from the famous British horsemaster,
Jennifer Jones. My favorite school horse was a well mannered
paint named Apache. There were many fabulous school horses there but he had a
special place in my heart. It was there I learned a general distrust for small ponies having
several experiences where Champ, the small school pony,
would try to squirt out of the arena gate if I wasn’t paying
attention.
I got my own horse, a small quarter horse mare named Sue
Ellen (it was the late 70’s and I guess the t.v. show “Dallas” influenced
her name). I learned the ins and outs of horse care
with her and many a bareback adventure at a farm called the
“Hitching Post” on Congaree Rd in Greenville. I found a great
interest in participating in horse shows and eventually needed
a horse with a little more talent. Roustabout, or “Bo” as I
called him, was my soul horse. He came with many issues to overcome from a back-
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