You are surely destined to spend your
life with horses when one of your first memories is holding onto the
collar of a plow horse as it pulled the plow and your father walks
behind down a cotton row. My next memory of horses is being three
and “leading” the horse back to the barn alone at the end of the day, getting him over a terrace out of sight of Dad, and climbing up
the harness to ride instead of walk back to the barn. So---except
for those years of college and beginning a career, horses have been
part of my life as they are today. For the 50 years we have been married, my husband Ray has supported my love of horses ---he's mowed, and hayed, and cleaned barns and sat with sick horses too. For a few years, we lived in
Tennessee where I had Tennessee Walking horses and a Missouri
foxtrotter that I moved back home to Alabama. Struck with love of
Arabian horses, I raised a half-Arab, half Tenn Walker
filly---beautiful but not gaited. I finally purchased my first
pregnant registered Arab mare in 1988.
When my husband Ray and I moved to Iowa
from the sunny south 14 years ago, I brought 11 Arabian horses with
me that Halloween night who thought the lush green pastures they saw
the next day were a treat. Six weeks later when the snow and cold
hit, they knew they'd been tricked!
Within a year, I had somehow heard
about the area dressage club now known as Great River and through
that group met Ann Bennett. I then asked Ann to start two of my
young fillies since she is an excellent trainer of Arabian horses.
Ann and I have worked together on several projects over the years,
one being the Great River group. Through Great River I made many
friends that now volunteer with Friends of Shimek. After a year or
so, thanks to our farrier and Marsha's initiative, I met Marsha
Achenbach who promptly introduced me to Shimek State Forest and its
25 miles of trails. At group trail rides and riding with Marsha and
her husband Bob, I've enjoyed many great hours on horseback in all
seasons---from January 1st rides several good years to sweltering
horsefly laden days in August---all have their own joy. The most
wonderful days being those spring days with redbuds blooming and
bluebells on the hill sides, tiny spring beauties underfoot and
numerous other flowers adding to the beauty along side the trails as
you ride. With Marsha's good guidance on the Shimek trails, I've never
gotten into the quicksand nor gotten lost. However, she has gotten
to laugh at me often as most every horse I've ridden has dumped me in
some unexpected fashion or the other when riding with her. (I'm
thankful for helmets.)
I met Debbie Miller one year around a
campfire at Shimek and only met Neal, Lala, Ringo and Brenda when we
all began getting together to work as volunteers at Shimek. John
Byrd---since he does not ride---darn it---I met when Ann, Doug
Moothart and I went to his office in 2011 to talk to him about
starting Friends of Shimek.
Now with each FOS Group Volunteer Day,
I meet more great people who also care about Shimek and want to help
protect and improve the trails both for our enjoyment and safety and
to preserve the beauty of the natural resource that is Shimek Forest.
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| Lora and her half Friesian-half Arab gelding Kalan riding up a trail in Shimek. NOTE HELMET! (Photo by Kelly Britnell) |
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| Lora doing what she does best. (Photo by Clay Smith) |
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