Encounters --- The Horse

by Ray Hart

Santa Fe was quite a discovery for me. My life had begun in Pittsburgh, PA and although I did travel down the East Coast to Florida and the Keys I had only read about the Southwest. The first time I saw Santa Fe it was by way of Espanola where I had lived and worked as a Counselor at the 3HO Foundation. When funding for the program was completed I learned how to cook at The Golden Temple, an Indian restaurant in Santa Fe. My first insight into the community was walking around the corner to the Plaza just to enjoy sitting and looking at the people around me. I had never seen the beauty of so many diverse cultures flowing together in a symphony of sound, color, and motion. This, I thought, is where I want to be. And so I stayed and played, for over a decade.

Jobs were mostly those that catered to the tourists that flowed through Santa Fe by the millions every year. Having been taught how to cook by my Sikh friends I was able to transpose the Western flavored vegetarian cuisine into authentic Southwestern delights! Before long I was working as a Kitchen Manager at the La Fonda Hotel - "the end of the Santa Fe Trail." That led to a series of jobs at various establishments in and around Santa Fe. However, not all the jobs were in the kitchen.

Tesuque was another area that I loved. When I saw an ad that a caretaker was needed at a particular compound in Tesuque I immediately jumped at the opportunity! When I met with the owner in his office in Santa Fe I learned that there were a dozen other applicants for the position, which also included taking care of six horses. Mel asked me if I knew how to ride and I said yes, of course! Mel was an incredible person with the kind of personality that everyone liked immediately.

He and I hit it off right away and he told me before we parted that he had to interview all of the other applicants but he was pretty certain that I had the position! Not bad, I thought, but did I deceive him? The only time I had ever ridden a horse was as a teenager on a date with the Sincere twins in Schenley Park. That was in Pittsburgh and I had vowed then that I would never again go horseback riding after the week long torturous suffering I experienced.

The Library, I thought. Yeah. I'll just go get a book on horseback riding. That should help. "The Horse" was the book the librarian gave me. I read it through and just shook my head. A friend, Ruth, who had taught riding gave me a few pointers, such as: "Heels down back straight!" That became my mantra. Ruth taught me how to put a saddle on a horse, how to walk it and tighten the cinches a second time. With Ruth's expertise and "The Horse" I was ready!

Mel called a few weeks after the interview and told me that I had the position if I still wanted it. Okay. We met at his estate, a beautiful compound that consisted of three houses scattered on a hill with the caretaker's house above it all. The horse barn and corral were next to the swimming pool which also had a cabana with an apartment next to the pool. The compound was unbelievably beautiful and was next to the Santa Fe National Forest.

Our first order of business was to go for a ride. My horse was a quarter horse that had been trained as a cutting horse. I didn't know what that meant at the time but I soon found out that it moved at the slightest nudge or movement of the reins. We saddled up and took off. Mel went through all of the maneuvers - walking, trotting, loping, galloping, uphill, downhill, through arroyos, and on and on. We returned several hours later. "You've got a good seat," Mel said, "and you've got the job if you want it!"

We became great friends and I rode every day. Sometimes it was the sixteen miles to the top of the Santa Fe Ski Trail alone. And everyday I thanked God with a loud "Hi-ya-pee-la-my-ya!" (I was told it was an Indian thank you to the Great Spirit.) I set up a teepee behind my house and made a gate to the National Forest in front of it. I was blessed to see the stars every night, to share my blessings with friends, and to discover that Mel and his relatives on the Hill were simply great people with hearts of gold. And when I thanked God I also thanked the author of the book - "The Horse."

--- (c) by Ray Hart