Mystress' Story
Every life long horse owner has a horse that has come into their life and shaped it. I have owned Mystress for 18 years. I got her when she was 5 and this year she turned 23.
I grew up on the family farm. My love for horses started very young. My dad would take me dear hunting with him and I started riding when I was two years old. We have always owned horses. When I was ten my Dad purchased a white Arabian mare that he had been using to herd sheep. I was so excited because I had claimed this mare as mine and had used her that summer in 4-H. That winter she got colic and had to be put down. It was horrible for a ten year old horse crazy girl. But I was determined to have a horse of my own. So for 4 years I saved my money. I babysat and sold corn, I saved every penny. Every week I would look at the livestock section of the classifieds. I knew exactly what I wanted, a dapple gray Arabian mare.
Finally at age 14 with the pursuading help of my mom, my dad called a man named Don Child who raised Arabians. Don had a friend who was selling a dapple gray mare. I remember the day she arrived I was sitting at the kitchen table talking with my mom and a friend. My friend said "Wouldn't it be cool if the someone just drove into your driveway with your horse in a trailer?" I said yes that would be very cool. Then she said because there is a horse trailer in your driveway. I thought she was joking but there it was, holding my wide eyed, nostrils flaring, Arabian mare. I was so excited.
Don owned two Arabian stallions and said that my mare was in heat and asked if I wanted to breed her. Of course I did. It was a dream come true, I had my new horse and she was getting bred so I would have a foal also. So he took her home and a week later brought her back.
Because Mystress was pregnant I did not use her for 4-H and Jr. Posse that summer but borrowed my cousins horse Alice. (I own her also, Alice is another horse who taught me a lot. Alice and Mystress have been the foundation horse for my riding lesson program.)
The next summer Mystress had her foal, a colt I name Sir Kizmet. Kizmet means 'fate', I thought the name was very fitting. It was fate that everything fell into place. Because it sounded fun I decided to breed her again and the next year she had a beautiful filly, but I never got to see it alive. It managed to get out of the her pen and impale herself on piece of rebar. But I still had Kizmet an obnoxious yearling. Who turned into a very sweet boy once we had him gelded. Kizmet was the first horse I trained myself.
After the death of the filly I decided not to breed Mystress any more and started riding her a lot showing and trail riding. With the help of my good friend and adopted mom Kathy Simmions (she calls me her adopted daughter, so I call her my adopted mom too. I am lucky to have two wonderful moms), Mystress and I learned a lot. Kathy is one of my mentors, her father raised quarter horse race horses and she grew up training and working horses.
At this time I was renting Don Childs barn. He was slowly getting out of horses and due to extreme bronchitis spent his winters in Arizona. I took care of his stallions for him while he was gone. I also purchase Mysti (the bay mare on the mares page) from him. In 1997, seven acres a block away from my home came up for sale. I put together a business proposal to set up the boarding facility. My Dad helped me co-sign on a business loan and that is how Campbell Farms came to be. (First I called it Circle J Farms and after getting married to make it a family business I re-named it Campbell Farms.)
After I got my business set up I started giving riding lessons. Mystress was one of my main horses. The first person she taught to ride was my sister Liz Love. Since that time Mystress has taught many children and some adult how to ride. She seems to know who is on her and adapt to meet their needs. She can still be a fire ball when I get on her and ask her to do things but if a young child is on her she take good care of them.