LA POTRANCA

According to my mother, my father had one bad habit, it was the source of all the disputes that I ever heard between them. He would loan money to his friends and most of the time without collateral. Hell, the concept of collateral probably did not exist in Los Rincones in those days. Everything was on your honor or a man's word. When mother found out about another of my dad's loans she would note it and she would then remind him of collecting the debt. Some were never paid, but one was, at my insistence. I had heard mother bugging dad about a $50.00 loan that had gone unpaid by a certain man from Llano. I had also seen that man ride into Peñasco on a mare that had foaled a beautiful little Potranquita. She was small in size, brownish-grey in color, and very lively. One day Don Demétrio rode to the General Store. La Potranca was with him. I went over and petted her and it was love at first sight. I asked Don Demétrio to pay us the Potranca in lieu of the $50 he owed my father, who incidently was at the time sick at the Veteran's Hospital in Albuquerque. I, the oldest boy in the family was in charge, so to speak. I was ten years old. He agreed and I kept La Potranca. When dad returned from the hospital I informed him that I had settled one of the many outstanding debts owed him.

A point of clarification is perhaps needed here. A $50 loan was big money in 1935. Most of the loans dad made were in the $5 to $10 range, and numerous for fifty cents. For some reason everyone needed fifty cents, perhaps it was the price of vino.

Well, for $50 that would probably not ever been collected I wound up with a horse that played a large role in my life for the next six years and in the summer of 1938 almost took my life. Some would say I was showing off. But "nel ese" I was not showing off. I just had confidence in my Potranca, confidence gained in the mountains jumping over dead logs. Once we got hung up over one. Aye Dios. No one got hurt much but La Potranca was obviously sore for a few days.

To go on, though, I had saved my "reales" and purchased a tough bit for my Potranca. It made her raise her head and look more spunky than usual. One day I must have tightened the bridle a little more than usual; I was bringing in the herd from the Macedónio pasture on my Potranca and she balked and I pulled on the reins. She backed up and suddenly bolted. We both wound up on the other side of a barbed wire fence, La Potranca on top of me and both of us tangled up in barbed wire. Of course, we tore up about 20 feet of fence and I still have the scares on the back of my calf to show for it.

Que tonto, eh?

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