|
|
|
|
Would you like to pay a tribute to Lynn?
Send
us your stories and memories.
And photographs, if you have any.
|
|
Horseytalk.net Special Interview
|
with Lynn Kinnish - An Unsuspecting Mum
|
Lynn Kinnish is your NOT your typical Pony
Club mum!
From the age of three her daugher Liz was horse mad. Lynn
was quite unprepared for this, and further, what was to follow!
Every time we saw a horse in a field when were out and about,
Liz would want to go and see it.
Lynn, says, she was scared of horses. In her youth, she
used to help with the donkey rides on the beach of a northern
town, but they were slow and quiet.
|
|
|
Age 10, Lynn and her pal, discovered some horses in a local
field, picked some grass, called to the distant horses, offering
them the grass over the field gate. The horses came down the
hill at full gallop, looking as if they would leap the gate.
Lynn and her friend threw the grass into the air and ran for
their lives scared stiff! Lynn continued, nothing prepared
me for my daughter Liz, and her apparent love for horses. Where
did that come from??! During the course of a gentle family holiday
in France, Liz persuaded her parents to book her a riding lesson.
It seemed a nice idea. We explained to the proprietor of the
French establishment, that it was Liz's dream to ride a horse.
He promised to give her a lively time, and took her off, with
her older brother, for a hack in the French countryside. Lynn
and her husband setted for a nice lunchtime doze under the apple
trees in the stableyard. Less than 15 minutes later, they all
returned, Liz in tears, her dreams shattered. The proprietor
had asked for canter almost as soon as they had set off. Liz
had never ridden before, and returned scared and shaken. Oh dear?
It all looked so easy in the cowboy films, jump on, and off you
go.
Returning home from holiday, Lynn resolved
to sort this out for Liz. RIDING LESSONS! Looking through
the yellow pages she focused on Winton Street stables in Alfriston.
Ringing the proprietor, 'boy was she so scary' says Lynn, she
booked a lesson for herself and Liz. “Why did she want
to know our height and weight, i did not understand? Of course,
later, Lynn understood. The proprietor clearly thought Lynn
was mad, and quite naive. How true!
|
|
|
Liz enjoyed her riding lesson, absolutely delighted. Lynn
could not quite share her enthusiasm, relieved to dismount
and go home to the ironing, and a G&T to steady her shattered
nerves. Eventually Liz went to those stables each weekend
volunteering to help out with the horses and continue her
lessons. 8am prompt start, daren't be late. Wonderful experience,
Liz learnt so much those years. Lynn also did a bit of helping
out.
|
|
|
She remembers one day, having single-handedly levelled the entire
sand school with a hand rake, turned her attention to mucking
out. It started to rain, and so Lynn put on her coat, to walk
round to the muck heap. On her 10th trip to the muck heap, in
torrential rain, the proprietor shouted at Lynn, that is she
was wearing a coat, she wasn't working hard enough! “Bloody
hell H****! Lynn retorted, I'm a volunteer!”
If that proprietor ever reads this, Lynn would like her to know,
how very grateful they both were, for the vast wealth of experience
she passed on. Lynn would tell her what a DIAMOND she was. “She
will know how VERY SCARY she was, AND be proud of it too! She
loved her horses, and we particularly remember Ben, Ricky, Kestrel,
Mattie, etc for teaching us so much, putting up with our failings,
and showing us how it's done!”
Many years later, Lynn and Liz bumped into the proprietor. Liz
now in her late teens, was able to tell her, how scary she was. “I
KNOW” she replied. “BUT THAT MADE YOU LEARN A LOT
DIDN'T IT?” Well, truly it did. With respect, Lynn would
like to nominate that retired proprietor, as her unsung hero!
I will never forget, Liz's much loved loan horse, Christopher
Robin, owned by Irene McCarthy Sommerville, wife of Peter McCarthy,
writer of 'McCarthy's Bar' etc, who lived at Owl Cottage, Eastbourne
Lane. Peter, Christopher Robin died so
suddenly and tragically. The experience, of seeing Christopher
Robin dead at Liphook, wanting him to get up, and live again.
He had survived his abdominal surgery, I had watched his operation
with Yvonne that night. Visited him almost every day, took Liz,
and together watching his abdomen dripping serum, chained up
with drips etc sang him his favourite songs, Teddy Bears Picnic,
videoed him, thought he was recovering, only to get a phone call
the next day to say he was dying. Raced over to Liphook, too
late. He was dead. Seeing him in a darkened room, lifeless on
a black mattress.
“Get up, get up, Christopher,” I cried to him. “You
cannot do this to Liz!” He was lifeless.
|
|
The nice nurse, cut some of his tail for us, and plaited
it, and tied a red ribbon around the end. Liz still has his
tail, and his ashes in her bedroom. We will never forget
that lovely pony. He had suffered too badly with sweet itch
when we took him on. Turned him round, with love and attention
and a Boett rug. If Christopher had arms, he would have helped
us put on the Boett pyjama suit, it gave him such relief
from those awful mosquitos. He looked like a pantomime horse
and the others in the field gave him a hard time at first,
until they got used to his disguise.
|
|
|
|
He was able to win Mountain and Moorland classes subsequently,
he did so well. His hair grew back. If only he could have lived
longer. We were distraught at his death. It was so sad for Liz
aged 14, she was never the same for months-years!!?
Marcelle Tatersall's dear old boy, Magnum. She rode him in his
youth, with her baby, Gemma, in a papoose. Magnum was tragically
kicked by one of the younger horses in the field. His jaw was
broken and so he needed to be euthanised. How sad we all were.
I bought Marcelle a vase with white flowers in it from Sainsbury's.
She kept that vase and flowers in the open door of his stable
for over a week. Gemma is now a 2012 Olympic hopeful.
|
|
|
Lynn has just achieved her best score ever
with her new British Riding Pony, Ninfield Dick Whittington,
better known as Boots.
It was First Prize in the First Class Walk and Trot Dressage
at Cross-in-Hand.
“It's the best score I've ever had on Boots. I'm
thrilled,” she says. “Both for him and for me.”
Lynn bought Boots, who is five-years-old, just 12-months
ago. Since then she has regularly competed him in local shows.
|
|
Lynn bought Boots, who is five-years-old, just 12-months ago.
Since then she has regularly competed him in local shows.
Next stop? “Prelims,” says Lynn. “I've got
my fingers crossed.”
This Boots is obviously made for winning!
|
|
|
|