30 Days of Ranch Memories: The Saddle with a Secret

In an blog earlier this month, I mentioned the set up at the Iodence Ranch, describing various out buildings in our yard.  One of those buildings was the tack shed.  At both ranches my dad worked on when I was little, horses were used extensively.   We would move cattle from pasture to pasture on horses, use them for brandings, and doctor from horse back.

Well, I was a horse fanatic!  I couldn’t get enough of them.  My mom had a great horse, Penny, and I loved to ride anything that would let me get on.  I collected Breyer horses and they were my prized possessions.  Well one fall, I’d say I was six, I spent a lot of time in the tack shed “riding” on the saddles that were stored in there.  One of them was just my size, and I “rode” it often.

Fast forward to Christmas morning that same year.  I was always an early riser on Christmas morning, and still am if someone wants to warn Stan. . .I rushed into the living room, which was about 3 steps from my bed.  There, underneath the tree was a saddle!  And it was just my size!  I couldn’t wait to go riding.  But then I figured out I had been riding on it!  If memory serves me right, my parents tried to convince me that Santa sometimes has to “store” Christmas items before Christmas, because that sled gets pretty heavy to pull!

Either way, I knew.  I knew that Santa didn’t exist, except for in our hearts.  He might have visited a few times after that – I can’t really remember and I always found my mom’s hiding place for gifts.  But one tradition our family has kept is hanging stockings and filling them.  This is one of my favorite Christmas traditions, and my parents and I fill each other’s socks with fun small items – stamps, lotions, kitchen utensils, candy, you name it!  So even though I figured out the real Santa many years ago, Santa still is there for those who believe!