My love of all things equine began when I was 8-years-old, and was introduced to an old horse, called Action, on our close family friend’s farm in the Wheatbelt where we holidayed every year.
I was taught how to sit in the saddle and hold the reins, and, for my own safety, was given permission to ride old Action in the sheep yards only. I opened the internal wooden gates to convert three small yards into one bigger one and practiced all day long how to trot and canter. I was addicted.
Each year as I grew up my riding improved and my money box, labelled “Horse Money” slowly swelled so that by the time I was 12, I was allowed my own pony, a Welsh mare called Cindy that I purchased from my cousin. Cindy and I adored each other, and she remained with me until she died of old age 20 years later at the age of 32. We went to Pony Club once a month, local gymkhanas, and raced with friends on the local Oval. I was 15 when my late Father was ill with a terminal brain tumour, and Cindy was my confidante and provided me with comfort.
As I was a dental student in the late 1970’s, my riding had taken a back seat due to the pressures of university and study. I therefore explored breeding with Cindy, and subsequently with her daughter, Allegro. One memory I have is in Final Year. I was working on a patient in Clinic and the reception called over the intercom for “Miss Day to come to reception for a phone call” (remember there were no mobile phones in the 70s). I took the call, and it was my mother on the phone saying Cindy had just given birth. I jumped up and down telling anyone who would listen: “I have just had a baby!” Obviously, there were a few confused faces.
The first six years of my dental career were as a full-time Dental Officer with Australian Defence Forces (Army). I spent three years at bases in the Eastern States then was posted back to the Perth Army base at Karrakatta where I worked until I set up private practice in the Hills of Perth a few years later. I could then resume my interest with my equine hobby, although marriage, children, and running my practice took priority. I did however introduce my children to the pleasures of riding and Pony Club when the time was appropriate. With dentistry being a fine motor skill with focused concentration, getting out in the field with animals provided me with a wonderful diversion.
