Joyce and Rejoice

 

By: Lester Ann Hyde Jensen

There was always lots of fun to be had when we went to the ranch.  The kids loved going there and horses provided a good majority of the fun. 

Dad had a gentle old cutting horse named Tony and we could always depend on him to give the kids lots of rides and fun.  You had to be careful, though as his old habits as a cutting horse were hard to break and he sometimes switched directions very quickly depending on what kind of livestock was in front of him.  If you were not paying attention and holding on tight, he could leave you in a puddle on the ground. 

Colleen and Tony had an awfully close brush with tragedy one day as they were galloping across the prairie.   Dad had warned her about the gopher and badger holes that were abundant, but she and Tony were both were having a great time galloping along at top speed.  The inevitable happened and Tony stepped in a hole.  They both fell and went tumbling but miraculously, neither one was hurt.  They just got up, shook themselves off, and, continued on home.  Colleen did not tell Mom or Dad about it.  It just remained one of those stories that do not come out until you are older, and you can include it in the stories you tell your grandkids. 

 

OUR OWN PRIVATE RODEO

Without a doubt, the animals Dad had the most fun with were his mules.  He bought them from Lyndsey Atwood.  They were identical twins.  That only happens about one in half a million births and because they were twins, Dad named them Joyce and Rejoice.   He played with them a lot and worked hard training them.  He was at the stage where he needed to train them to accept harnesses.  He waited until Andersons came to visit so Randy could help.  He weighed considerably more than Dad did and Dad thought the extra weight would slow them down if Joyce and Rejoice decided to run away. 

The day finally came.  Dad had them harnessed and ready to go.  They were just going to drive them around the yard a bit so they could adjust to being directed by the harnesses.  Mom and Colleen stationed themselves at the kitchen picture window to watch the show.  Little did they realize how wild the show would be.

Just as they were ready to start, our dog, Heinze, arrived on the scene.  He decided it would be great fun to find out what Joyce and Rejoice would do if he barked at them.  That was all they needed!!  Even Heinze was surprised by how crazy their response was. 

They took off and exciting and crazy were the events that followed.  It was immediately apparent to Dad he could do nothing to control them, so he let go.  He hit the ground and rolled over, groaning. 

Randy, however, hung on, plowing furrows with his heels, and yelling, “Whoa, Whoooaaa!!

Dad had now found enough oxygen in his lungs to yell, “LET GO!!!!’  But Randy persisted.  He was now plowing a furrow with his nose.     

When he noticed a barbed wire fence directly in their pathway, he finally let go, giving the mules the freedom to decide their own fate.  Randy watched in amazement as Joyce and Rejoice sailed over the fence in perfect unison.  It was enough to convince Randy if mules could fly like that, it had to be true, Santa’s reindeer could indeed fly. 

Very sheepishly, Dad and Randy returned to the house, like two naughty little boys afraid to face the music.  The music was nothing more than Mom and Colleen rolling in laughter.

As they neared the house, Mom was no longer laughing.  She met them in the carport with a broom to sweep them off before she allowed them in her house.  Knowing Mom, she was pretty thorough about getting the dirt off.  She said she must have cleaned fifty pounds of dirt off each one of them.  She then insisted they both have a bath.  They still left a couple of inches of dirt in the bottom of the tub. 

Neither Dad, nor Randy had the energy for doing much else that afternoon.

   

 

 

After a whole lot of work, Dad finally did get Joyce and Rejoice train to the  point to where they would pull a wagon.