Rhonda Snider (above/
opposite page), is
helped into her gear by
Bill Schauff, the jump-
mas :er. The parachute
will carry her safely to
the ground after she
jumps 3,000 feet out of
an airplane.(Below, op
posite page) Snider and
Sarah Oates, receive las':
minute instructions be
fore boarding the plane.
Dena Brown and
Sweet, the tall dark one,
(above, this page) are
out for a bare-back jaunt
around the stables.
Brown, never outgrew
asking for a pony at
Christmas every year.
Now she has bought her
first horse. They are not
only horse and rider but
(below, this page) the
best of friends as well.
Horsin' around
By DENAL. BROWN
Staff Writer
When I was three, I caught the
fever. Horse fever.
By the time I was five, I was
drawing 10 to 12 horses a day.
And we're not talking little po
nies ... no sir, we're talking
horses.
My habit began to be an ob
session. I read every "Billy and
Blaze" book ever written. Fi
nally, I wrote off Blaze and pro
gressed to Walter Farley's "Black
Stallion" series. "The Black Stal
lion," "The Black Stallion Re
turns," "The Black Stallion and
the Girl," "The Black Stallion
Meets Godzilla" — all were a
part of my life.
At seven, I made a bet with a
boy that I could draw horses bet
ter than he could. I won, and he
turned over his favorite Palo
mino mare to me. The horse was
only plastic, but I knew one day
I would own a real horse.
My model horse collection
grew. At 60 horses, I felt my par
ents would realize that my love
for horses was real. I kept trying
to make deals with them. You
know, "Instead of a car when
I'm 16, can I have a horse?" The
only problem was, my dad had
no intention of getting me a car
either.
Finally, I started high school. I
don't know if I just eave up on
horses or if I tnought I'd out
grown them, but horses were no
longer the focal point of my life.
Sure, every now and then Td try
to find a place to ride, but the
closest stables were 30 miles
away and my mom didn't want
to drive me.
And them came college — and
men.
But somewhere in the back of
See Horse page 11