BEAR CREEK ROCKIES

             How we came to love the
           Rocky Mountain Horse

        Jeff and I laugh about all the years we spent together before we finally had the time to talk
about some of the things we wanted to do - instead of doing all the things we had to do.  When
 we finally got around to making our list of what we wanted to do we were surprised to learn how
much our interests centered around our love of horses and our fond memories of owning some
horse or another when we were younger. 

     His childhood memories are of his dad rushing home on warm summer evenings during show
season to take Jeff and his brother to the local horse shows and county fairs.  The shows were
family events and their mother was always in the stands as their biggest fan.  If a pony got out
of hand, she could be heard above the crowd expressing her concern for the boys' safety (I don't
think she knew the boys played fierce rounds of "King of the Pony" where the object of the game
was to knock another boy off the back of his pony by any means available to a 10 year old boy.) 
She even became an expert at dressing-out the ponies for the show ring by adorning them with
big colorful bows that danced and fluttered from the breeze caused by the pony's speed round. 
My horse memories are of hitching a pony to a sled in the winter and pulling the kids around the
yard as they squealed with delight. 

     Along with the good memories, there were some that weren't so good.  I owned a Tennessee
Walker filly that threw me against a fence as I held her halter.  Shortly thereafter she pinned my
8 year old daughter against a fence by leaning on her and slowly putting more and more of her
weight onto her squashing her into the fence!  Thankfully though, it was these memories that sent
us on the search for a breed of horse that we felt we could trust with our safety, had loads of
personality, and would be forgiving of the years we had been absent from the equestrian world. 

      We remembered a horse we had seen at the Kentucky Horse Park on one of our weekend
trips called a Rocky Mountain Horse.  Their beauty was striking so we began to search for more
information.  We ran across a book by Bonnie Hodge entitled Rocky Mountain Horses.  After
buying his and hers copies, we devoured the book wanting to learn as much as we could about
this rare breed.  This book gave us in-depth information about what a Rocky was suppose to be,
where they came from, folklore, breed registries, ASD, and a 'how to' for purchasing our first Rocky,
and so we were hopelessly hooked on the magnificent Rocky Mountain Horse. 

      Our search for our first Rocky Mountain took us all over Ohio and Kentucky where we met
some of the most congenial people you'd ever hope to meet.  Most seemed genuinely interested
in helping us find the horse that fit us.....and all of them were eager to share their knowledge
about this exceptional breed.  After much looking, we found our first Rocky.  A filly that goes by
the name of Nick's Little Nikki and she is everything a Rocky should be. 

     I hadn't ridden for years and when this young horse took me
 out on the trails it was as if she knew she had to take care of me. 
She didn't get frazzled at anything she saw on the trail and
handled new experiences with ease.  On one of our overnight
trail rides it began to rain really hard so I ran out and brought
her under the canopy of the trailer leaving the screen door open
so we could visit.  It was cold so I covered up under a blanket -
head and all.  I was just about to doze-off when Nikki popped
her head in the door and pull the covers off of me as if she were
a big dog.  There she stood as if to say, "Hey, I'm here now, time
                                                          to get up and talk to me."  No matter how many times I tried to
re-cover my head and go back to sleep, she'd pull the covers off to get me up.        
   
     I guess it goes without saying...we didn't stop with Nikki. 
Since she came we have added three other mares for breeding; Boots, a bay filly, Lena, a black mare, and Yankee Lady, a red-chocolate daughter of Yankee. Our goal is to breed a few quality Rockies each year sharing, with others, the versatile Rocky Mountain Horse.