Malinda Jones

Like many of us, I loved horses before I had words for them. Virginia, where I was raised, was a mecca for horse people. Pony rides on the way home from church, the International Horse show, Middleburg shows, green pastures and white fences. At 8, I started HJ lessons. Nirvana.

Always a reader, I read every horse book in the library … the Misty of Chincoteague and the Black Stallion series were my favorites. My grandmother’s cousin owned the horse who played the Pied Piper in the Misty movie. I never rode him but watched in awe and rode his barn mates.

During college I continued riding because the school offered gym credit for taking HJ lessons. Brilliant! Immediately after graduation, I headed to Colorado. I was just drawn, as many of us were and still are. I taught first grade, preschool and directed childcare centers. I continued HJ lessons and envied those who owned their own horses and lived their passion every day.

I had to step away from horses for 14 years as I earned a doctorate in Reading Education at the University of Northern Colorado, my husband and I raised three sons, and I became a tenured professor of early childhood education at MSU Denver. During my years away from horses, I read books, went to the Stock Show, and wished for “someday” to come. Sometime during middle age, I purchased a lovely Hanoverian-quarter horse mare. I changed disciplines and started dressage. A new world.

I now have an ex-charro horse, Sundown, an Azteca (Andalusian-Quarter). Like other horses with stressful jobs, when Sunny came to his new home and the pressure was released, he became difficult to manage. I was fortunate to find western dressage at that time. I have since worked with exceptional trainers and other riders who help us understand that trust comes from a soft rein, and that a release can be a cue or an answer to a question.

I joined WDACO to learn, to meet other like-minded riders and to support the organization. This year will be a wonderful year of clinics (horseless and with horses) and shows to meet the needs and interests of all of Colorado’s WD riders and horses. I feel honored to be part of it.