Atta Boy

Registered QH, liver chestnut gelding, born circa 1951

Atta Boy was 17 when I knew him. As a young horse he'd been the Pacific Coast Reining Futurity Champion. He belonged to a doctor who boarded at the stable. He was such an unappreciated horse. The doctor's family had 5-6 horses & Atta Boy was always the after thought when it came to care & attention. He would hang his head over the gate begging for attention but no one seemed to care. I started patting his head as I walked by. One day I was greeted by the quietest nicker & his ears were pricked forward. After that I went out of my way to pet that old horse & I'd even give him carrots when I had them. When summer came the doctor & his family went away for the summer. I was the lucky young girl who was hired to care for their horses. Atta Boy was all mine for an entire summer. I would ride & care for their other horses first because then I could spend as much time as I wanted with Atta Boy. I knew the family never rode him because they couldn't handle him under saddle. They'd told me I could ride all their horses but not Atta Boy because he'd throw me. Well, don't tell a young girl she can't ride a horse. When no one was looking one day I hopped up on him bareback in halter. He was such an awesome horse. He carried me around that arena like I was made of china. He never missed a step. The only time he ever did anything to get me on the ground was when I decided I wanted to see if he could still spin. Oh yeah, that old horse spun right out from underneath me. He spun me off so fast I didn't even know he'd started spinning. When I hit the ground he froze & looked at me, nickering softly. I started laughing & promised him I'd never tell if he wouldn't. That was such a great summer. I loved Atta Boy. When the doctor's family returned they were shocked to find that their horse would call to me but never so much as acknowledge them. The doctor's wife wasn't impressed with the fact that their horse had bonded to me. I didn't know why it mattered because they didn't like him anyway. I never missed a day of patting his head as I passed his stall. Then one day there was a for sale sign on his stall. I thought my heart would break when my parents said there was no way they could afford to buy him for me. I had my horse they were already supporting. Every day I told Atta Boy that I loved him & would never forget him. It's been over 30 years & I've never forgotten him. What a wonderful summer that old horse & I had.