Horses Down Under

G'day, My name is Cheryl and I come from a long line of horse breakers and Jockeys on my mothers side of the family. I was born in a small country town by the seaside, on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. My older brother and I were born 18 months apart and were both  madly keen on horses from infancy. My unfortunate downfall was seeing Doris Day as Calamity Jane when I was 6 years of age and from there I was hooked on being a 'Cowgirl' . My mother said I used to swagger around with my thumbs in my pants pockets saying " Im Calam".
We lived in a one horse town (we had the horse) with a population of about 15 families. My father was a fisherman but most of us kids preferred the land and country life. My brother and I thought we were very fortunate to have an Aunty who lived on a sheep station, therefore we got the opportunity to visit during May school holidays much to our delight as they had horses and ponies there.
One May holiday when my brother and I were visiting our cousins on the station (40,000 acres) my uncle got us all to ride the calves. It was a bit like a rodeo I guess. They would hold the calf and put us on and away it would go bucking. Of course we all fell off, but it wasn't far to fall and looked quite funny on film which we would watch in the next hols.
I was so excited being on the station. In the morning I would rise early and run up to the milking shed where I would watch my Uncle milk the cows. He would separate the milk to get the cream (which my Aunty used  as cream for the table or cakes or to make butter. ) He would lock the calves up overnight so the cows had plenty of milk then after milking in the morning the calves would have their turn. Then the cows would be let out in the paddock to graze. I loved poking around in the old wooden sheds, there was one for the hay to be stored, one for the horses to be fed with big long mangers to put the hay, one for saddlery, a blacksmiths shop, a couple of yards for separating the animals and the milking shed, which only fitted one cow at a time. I would then help with feeding the horses if they were in and the pigs, dogs and hens. I would then run back to the kitchen and have a wash ready for breakfast which was quite huge, usually chops  or heart or liver in gravy and onions with eggs and toast and a cup of tea or milk. Quite large to what I was used to at home but very enjoyable. They had a large rectangular table which fitted 8 people my uncle, aunty, 4 cousins and my brother and I so meal times were usually a noisy affair.
Then my older cousin would bring in the horses on a motorbike, there were 3 ponies and 2 race horses. My Uncle would saddle up the ponies for us and give us a ride in the yard. As we got more confident we rode around the paddocks. As I got older I would get the horses in myself and saddle them up.
In one of the holidays my cousin Joy and I who were the same age, 12 at the time, decided to go for a ride to the next station and stay overnight and ride back the next day. We packed food and water and headed off early.  We stopped half way and had our lunch then continued on without mishap. We were so excited to be staying with the neighbours as they had new things to explore and a huge orchard with lots of different kinds of fruit. (something that is hard to come by in the bush back in those days). Unfortunately we were a bit sore having never ventured that far on horse back before and had to eat out tea off the shelf. (standing up). ;- ( .
We rode home the next day and considered ourselves horsewomen after our big ride.

Another time my brother and I had a race on the retired thoroughbreds there. One was a black called Abdullah 20yrs the other was a chestnut Sherwood Glen 12yrs. We were out riding and my brother said 'race you to the base of the mountain'. Off we galloped and needless to say I won, Abdullah being the faster horse. My brother was a bit miffed as he wanted to be a jockey. I would ride nearly every day of the holidays when we were there. Sometimes we woulld bring in the cows for milking but usually just ride around the paddocks.
Another time Joy and I were out riding, she was on Blossom a black pony and I was on Abdullah bareback when we took off at a canter for home, but Abdullah thought it was a race and went for it we came galloping thru the gate to the sheep yards and veered right straight to the stone wall and pulled up with a sliding stop. I didnt have a lot of control being bareback, fortunately I stayed on but was so sore and bruised in unmentionable places the next day.
They were great times in those days, no TV or computers or WiFi. We had to invent our own games and make our own fun. Building cubbies, camping out and going on picnics up the mountain. Then in the summer, mulberry fights with the boys in the mulberry trees and eating fruit straight from the tree, playing tennis as they had a court, cricket and swimming when we went to the shack in Elliston.