The last few weeks a number of different people have seen me riding different horses and commented on my quiet, steady hands. It reminded me of a time long, long ago when I first started riding with the people who would become my mentors and second parents – Col. Alfred Kitts and Gretchen Kitts.
I don’t actually remember how old I was when I started riding with Mrs. Kitts at their Paul Revere Farm. Maybe I was 12 or 13? I do remember Mrs. Kitts complimenting me on my good basics, including my hands. She said it wasn’t often that young riders had such a solid foundation. And to that I owe a debt of gratitude to my very first instructor, Jenny Stine.
Jenny taught at her family farm while she was in high school. I started taking weekly lessons there when I was eight. I initially learned on Shetland ponies and eventually moved on to her larger horses. She instilled an excellent combination of basic leg position, upper body position, and independent hands. Oh…and she was a proponent of wearing helmets every time, every ride many years before it became a regular requirement.
When Jenny went off to college, I was left without a riding instructor. To this day, I remember my mother said I couldn’t ride for a year. She thought this was a passing phase. But, if after the year was up I still wanted to ride, she would find another place for me to take lessons. It was a very, very long year, and of course when the time came I wanted to be around horses again.
My mother kept to her word, and it was then we found the Kitts’s. They helped me build on that foundation and put me squarely on the path that I’ve been on to this day.
I’m not the best rider out there. Not even close. Nor will I ever be. But I do have a forgiving hand and have learned over the years how to have a good conversation with the horse’s mouth. So to you, Jenny Stine, wherever you are, thank you.
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