Joanne Karaszewski and CL Vested Interest (NC)
Team #928: Joanne Karaszewski and CL Vested Interest
From: Lillington, North Carolina
Ages: 83 & 23
Combined Ages: 106
Test: Introductory Level Test C
I was born in South New Jersey, not exactly horse country!! However, from an early age, I was fascinated by horses.
During the late 40s and early 50s, radio was our go-to for entertainment. Enter the Lone Ranger, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, and Sky King!! I was glued to the radio for all of them. Every year, a foal of Silver (Lone Ranger) was offered in a contest. The best picture drawn by a child listener was the winner. Of course, I entered!! One Saturday, while waiting for results, my dad hollered that he saw a white tail swishing in the garage!! I was outside in a heartbeat!! NOTHING Dad laughed and laughed...
Enter Girl Scouts. My sister's troop started working on a horse riding badge. Off went my sister every Saturday for lessons. I went along for the car ride and one Saturday, got up the nerve to ask the owner if I could work on Saturdays. She said yes, enter 4-H!!
I spent the next four years mucking stalls and tacking up lesson horses. I was in Heaven!!
After high school, I went to work and saved my money. I was taking lessons at Essie Perkins' farm on Saturdays and was able to ride Annie's stallion. I finally saved enough money to start looking for my own horse.
Then I met HIM! Got married, moved, and started riding again. It turned out the trainer needed help, so I started teaching beginners and rode sales prospects. My husband took a new job in North Carolina. We packed and sold the house and moved in three months. Another gap in riding as I worked my way through my son's high school years. When he enlisted and left for the Navy, I decided that if I was ever going to have my own horse, it was now.
Enter "South Phillie Filly," an Appy pony mare with one eye. She gave me a refresher class in horsemanship. She was VERY opinionated! She lost all her sight, and I donated her to a local therapy group. The kids loved her, especially since she was "handicapped" also!
Then came Ted E. Bear. A 14.2 hand Morgan gelding. He had done it all. Just the horse l needed as a confidence builder at shows and over fences. We had a grand time, winning classes and Beginner Novice Championships. Eventually, old age caught up with him, and he is buried at the farm he grew up on.
With shades of Lone Ranger's Silver, I looked at an eight-year-old grey gelding, barely broke. He was offered by a local dealer, and that horse was sold after my first trial ride! Chuckles (it is easier to laugh than to cry), and I started lessons with a local coach, Cassiday Oeltjen. Now, 15 years later, we are still learning from Cassidy. She has got us here to a Century Club ride!
