About On Q Hanoverians
On Q Hanoverians is a small band of mares and beautiful foals in Southern California. We search the world for the finest lineage to produce your dream sporthorse.
The Head Mare
Hello, my name is Robin. My husband, Gary, and I not only own but adore and care for our small mare band. I was born with that horse sense. A proud decendent of Perfecta Espinoza, know in the mid-1800's to be one of San Diego area's finest horse women. Horses must be in the blood.
This is how I remember my teen years. Shadow was my mode of transportation as well as beloved mare.
My sister, Anita, made a VERY funny comment recemtly after the very exciting October 10, 2006 Hanoverian Inspection at Creek Hollow Ranch in Ramona, California.
She said. "Wow, you've come a long way since you had that horse tied to the fence when you were 14." Now that probably doesn't sound that funny but the story went like this:
I was walking to school one day at the age of 14 memorizing my Geometry postulates and theorems. Suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks and realized my life was not being the story it was supposed to be. You see, I was the youngest in a navy family of 4 kids. I was born with that horse thing. I cried when my mother gave me a wooden horse to sit on when I was about 3 BECAUSE IT WAS NOT REAL. Somehow I always thought I would have a horse as a kid. SO, that is why SUDDENLY at 14 I realized that my kid life was coming to a close and I DID NOT have a horse.
We lived in typical track housing BUT we lived at the edge of the development and it was tomato farm from there out to the hills in the distance. I happened to have befriended the farmer, Pete Manos, who had a daughter a year younger than I.
With my sudden realization, I placed an ad in the newspaper, "I will take care of your horse for free." Early days of feed lease, I suppose. This was 1967. Much to my surprise a sailor being deployed to sea called and said he had such a horse. He brings her to my house and I guide him out to the tomato farm. He says, "Well, where will you keep my horse." I actually pulled out one of those cork screw dog stakes and said I would tie her to that. (Please forgive me as I really knew nothing of how to care for a horse.) Much to my surprise the guy left the horse. Now this was not just a funky little donkey or anything. This was a 4 year old, non-fading black mare crossed Morgan and Thoroughbred. She was actually tall and warmblood like and elegant and FAST! Shadow was her name.
Well, needless to say, I realized almost immediately that the stake in the ground wasn't going to cut it. Though for a couple of days it worked and I would move her around the hillside carving beautiful eaten grass circles in a delightful design. Of course, we learned of tangles then it rained and she pulled up shop and ran away. Luckily, this was the very end of the plow horse era. So just over the hill lived Chester the plow horse. It was easy to retrieve her as she was always at Chester's place much to his very lonely delight. I actually used to sneak out at night with a bridle fashioned from rope and I would ride Chester. Since he pulled plows with is mouth and harness Chester had no whoa or stop. I still can't believe I was so brazen.
Next, I had to tie Shadow to my parents fence until I could figure out how to build a corral. So there you go, my sister was talking about that fence. My parents still did not know about this. My dad would ask why the horse was eating his fence and I would tell him I had to feed it for a friend for the weekend. I guess he thought I meant I was feeding her his fence. I was babysitting EVERY night of the week at 50 cents an hour to buy feed and supplies which I think my brother's friends would help out with deliveries. At 14 it was easy to find older boys with trucks to help.
With my earnings I bought a bunch of two by fours. I used them for both posts and rails for a 24 x 24 corral. I built the flimsy thing myself. Each night Shadow would chew one post half way through in the middle and it only took a couple of nights and the whole thing was collapsed inside itself and the horse, well, she was at Chester's place. That ugly old plow horse certainly had the appeal!
I then beefed up the corral with bigger posts and somehow got it to hold the horse for a couple of months. When the sailor came back he helped me build a barn from airplane part crates that we got from Miramar Naval Airstation in San Diego. What an easy build. The crates were 16 to 24 feet long. THEN he starts dating my sister, ewwwwwwwwwww! To be a nice guy, he gave me the horse. That is until she broke up with him. Then he sent me a bill. Somewhere along the way I had to tell my parents...my mother first who helped me keep the secret. Maybe it was when it was raining and I brought Shadow into the garage (before the barn) that my dad put 2 and 2 together when he could not put his car away.
So that is how I got my first horse. What a ride she was and the envy of everyone that knew her.
Now, don't you think what my sister said is much more funny now.....OR NOT! haha
