01/11/2026
What Goes Up,
Doesn't Always
Have To Come Down
---- A poem by the late Sheila Harris ---
The local show was approaching,
I thought “We'll have a go”...
I think we'll do some jumping
But Cassie's rather slow.
So some oats I bought to pep her up
And try to beat that clock
But all they did was give her the runs
And messed up all her hocks.
The day was here, and off we went
Thinking “We'll show ‘em how it's done”,
But when it was our turn to go in the ring
Oh, I wish I hadn't come!
“Come on Our Lass”, I said to her
“Let's show ‘em how to do it”
Well, that's when the oats began to work
For she went round like a bullet.
A clear round she did for me
And in the fastest time
A red rosette was placed upon her head
And Cassie, well, she's MINE!
---
I often think people don't believe me when I say my Mum's first "horse" was a mule. One the rag n bone man said she could have if she could catch her. Francis the mule and Sheila winning the local show jumping when Sheila was only 14/15 years old. Sheila got a name for herself riding unbroken and unrideable horses, she worked for many of the most well known families in Yorkshire. A photo of her on Trigger who she broke and trained for the Lee family
Mum's poems are loosely based on real adventures, there are lots more to come!
It gives me comfort to share them, I hope they make you smile 💖🐴
