"McLintock!"

People! People! People! Last week I re-watched one of my favorite movies of all time, and definitely my favorite western, McLintock.



John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara team up in this western comedy that lacks the goofiness of Blazing Saddles, but absolutely has its fair share of chuckles! I don't know how old I was when my mom brought this movie home, but it's one of those I probably quote more often than I realize.

The story is about George Washington McLintock, a well-off rancher with a rather callus way of dealing with women. His wife, Kate, comes back to the town of McLintock to welcome their daughter home from school. She has been off attending swarees with the Governer. For some reason Kate has a lot of contempt toward her husband, but always with a sly smile behind every insult. The story is of McLintock and Kate rekindling the passion their relationship once had, through mud brawls, drunken serenades, and finally a big city celebration with a rodeo and "march" down the main street!

John Wayne's son, Patrick Wayne stars in the movie, as well as Jerry Van Dyke, who most people will remember as "Luther" on the TV show Coach.

Some of the better lines from McLintock include:

George Washington McLintock: If these settlers get burned out, there'll be a lot of hollerin' that this country is too wild to be a state. We'll go on bein' a territory some more, with a lot of political appointees runnin' it according to what they learned in some college where they think cows are somethin' you milk and Indians are somethin' in front of a cigar store.

George Washington McLintock: I know I'm gonna use good judgement. I haven't lost my temper in forty years, but pilgrim you caused a lot of trouble this morning, might have got somebody killed... and somebody oughta belt you in the mouth. But I won't, I won't. The hell I won't
[belts man in the mouth]

Drago: I'm sorry Katherine - that Katie just slipped out from times when I remember you as being nice people...
Katherine McClintock: Are you going to stand there with that stupid look on your face while the hired help insults your wife?
George Washington McLintock: He can't help it - he's just ignorant. He doesn't know any better than to tell the truth. And I can't help this stupid look. I started acquiring it as you gained in social prominence!

And finally:
George Washington McLintock: Don't say it's a fine morning or I'll shoot ya!

And here is one of my favorite scenes from this beloved movie...don't worry, no spoilers here!

Yellow

Yellow is the name of my horse. No, not his actual name, silly! His registered name is Skips Sport (who comes up with these?!?), and then he has his barn name, and then there is his color: Yellow. When I first heard about Yellow, the horse trainer said, "I got this yeller horse I think you would like." That's the way my horse trainer (aka The Cowboy) names his horses. In all the time I spent with The Cowboy, I think my mom's colt was the only horse he had a name for that was not color related. Of course, "Sumbitch" is not something we wanted the little colt to be called, but if you tried to ride that little horse, you might have had a similar name for him.

I rode The Cowboy's rope horse, or, "that big bay horse." I rode "that appy horse." And finally, I bought "that yeller horse."

Did I mention Yellow can rope too? Well, the cowboy can rope...Yellow can chase a cow or a donkey. This donkey's name is Leroy!

I was pretty intent on giving Yellow a very sophisticated barn name. After all, shortly after I purchased him I moved him from the country life he was accustomed to to a fancy-shmancy barn in Spokane, WA. Our side of the barn was mostly reining horses with a few dressage horses mixed in. Surely "Yellow" on his stall card would never fly! Not next to horses with real barn names!

Yellow's arrival in Spokane.

Now, I'm not saying I don't like his barn name. I gave it to him, and it works. I combined his registered name with a person very close to me, and it suits him. It's easy to call out in a pasture, easy to use with nicknames, all the things a good barn name should be. It's kind of like our city alias.

But then in March, I moved him back down to my parent's farm. And soon after that, my mom got a new colt. Amazingly, "Sumbitch" didn't work out the way we had hoped. So her chestnut colt came home, and to help my dad remember who's blanket fit who, we adopted the saying "white fleece on Yellow, green fleece on Brown." And thus, my horse became Yellow once again.

Yellow and Brown, hanging out on the farm.

Yellow is a simple kind of horse. He comes from every Skip, Skippa, or Skipper horse you've ever heard of. He's 15hh and slightly long, but everything is proportionate. The main thing about Yellow is, he has a lot of "try." That's a phrase I think even non-horse people can understand. Yellow will try anything. If you have a leg or a rein on him, and he's not sure what you're asking, he's not just going to stand there. He will do something. He's almost never goofy (sans the 2 months he was on stall rest and then I decided to break him out and chase a mechanical flag while still in my work attire...bad Palomino Girl!) and loves to go to work. I wish I could say the same about myself!

All in all, Yellow is my dream horse. And who gets to have his/her dream horse at the ripe ol' age of 24? Well, me, I guess.

A cousin recently told me that my mom's horse, Brown, needs to learn that the sun does not rise and set on the butt of that yeller horse. Well, clearly I disagree!! And I'm sure there are plenty of you who feel the same way. I had another cousin tell me that all she had in the world was her husband and her horse. Well, to that I say, "Who needs the man when you've got a Quarter Horse?" Of course, shortly after saying that I found a man worth keeping around...but even he knows to respect my time spent with Yellow. That is Palomino Girl and Yellow time, not anything else.

Note the Ipod headphones? I don't like to be bothered by anyone or anything when I'm with Yellow.

Last week at our cousin horse camping trip, we decided to each do a routine to a song that represented either the cousin or the "equicuz," as we call them. My song? Yellow, by Coldplay. Chris Martin wrote it for the yellow-haired beauty in his life, Gwyneth Paltrow. I rode to it for the yellow-haired beauty in mine.

Look at the stars, look how they shine for you. And all the things that you do.

What song would best represent you and your horse? And what kind of a routine would you do to it?