#65 A TRUCK AND TRAILER EVENT

Our first truck that we used to pull our first trailer. Stevie is in the foreground.

After having enjoyed our first ever horse show so much, I was then determined to take Stevie to more horse shows. For safety reasons, we couldn’t continue transporting Aloysius in the back seat of our car. We bought a very beat-up, old, two-horse trailer. It looked terrible but with fresh, red paint and a little fixing up it worked out just fine to transport a little, Shetland ponyTo pull this trailer, my only choice was our dilapidated farm truck. We normally used it mainly for projects around our property. This rusty, dented, old, 1937 Ford dump truck with no muffler even had holes in the floor and springs coming out of the seat. Both vehicles looked as though they should be abandoned in a junk yard. However, I was confidant that I could handle this rickety rig. I didn’t really care what it looked like. I didn’t have any other choice. At least, we could get to a horse show. Besides, what really mattered was the pony inside the trailer. The truck and trailer would only go forty miles per hour at top speed. Putting up with such slow progress just showed how much I wanted to go to horse shows.

From the beginning, Stevie and Aloysius soon became a favorite pair with horse show judges. The first year, even though this tiny twosome was very young, with Aloysius just three and Stevie only four, they did very well. Week after week, in small shows, they would ride in pet pony classes against much larger ponies and older riders who were up to fourteen years old. In fact, Stevie and Aloysius often won first place. Near the end of our first show season, I decided to take the pair to the Lancaster Fair, which had a large class A horse show, one hundred and forty miles away. The judge had never seen Stevie and Aloysius before. This would be challenging! 

I was concerned that the old truck might have a problem going up the very steep hill outside Whitefield, New Hampshire. Even though I made a ‘running start’ the truck barely chugged to the top. I think we were traveling about two miles an hour by the time we made the hill. With that obstacle over, I thought there would be no more problems. 

Not so. We were about to have a significant mishap. In the line of slow traffic, when we were approaching the gate at the Lancaster fairgrounds, I heard a loud crash and scraping sound behind me. I looked in the mirror. Somehow, the trailer had separated from the truck and had come to a stop in the road directly behind us. Fortunately, an open, auto repair shop happened to be on the side of the road beside us. 

How could we have been so lucky not to have had this accident when we were going down the highway at 40 miles per hour? The trailer fell off and yet stayed right in the road behind our truck. This happened next to an open garage! The mechanic at the garage said he would fix the problem that same day. And, furthermore, we were within walking distance to the fair. 

I saddled and bridled Aloysius. With Stevie in the saddle, I led them toward the horse show gate, carrying a water pail full of the necessary things that we would need for that day. We walked by the line of the fair-bound traffic that was now at a stand-still. In just a few minutes we were inside the grounds. Fortunately a stall was available, which I immediately rented for the day. 

After the pony classes were over, I left Stevie at the fair with friends and walked back to the garage. The truck and trailer were ready. I drove across the road to the fairgrounds and picked up my champion passengers. 

That day, Stevie and Aloysius had their ‘biggest’ win ever. They won all three of their classes; Pet Pony, Trail Pony, and the Championship. Each class was large, having at least fifteen ponies competing. 

What a day!