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Summer Fun A Token Away:it's B ack in I he la d d ie A ga inThis show class is called \on Pokey (left) and Nicole leads Cloe Reynolds on Buttercup. (Phoenix/Cheech Photo)BY TRACY GARRITYI have never read %u201cMy Friend Flicka.%u201d Inever fantasized myself in ElizabethTaylor%u2019s place in %u201cNational Velvet.%u201d I neverwanted to hear the throng of applause asmy Lippizaner stallion shot straight into theair at Madison Square Garden. So whythen, I asked myself, was I aboard a hugeblack stallion at the tender age of sixgalloping around a ring at the Tower HillDay Camp? I was not an easy convert tothe equestrian arts; but a convert I was.I don%u2019t remember the horse%u2019s name %u2014just that she was 12 times my size with apredilection towards a canter when all Iwanted to do was walk sedately from oneside of the ring to the other. By the end ofthe summer I won the annual Tower Hillpolo championship and the respect of thebig black horse. I rode every summer fromthat time until I was well into my teens,and even spent time one summer at ariding camp learning everything fromgrooming to the elementary points ofdressage. Ten years after I won that polochampionship, however, I was no better arider %u2014 still forgetting to keep my heelsdown and my knees pressed so tightlyagainst the saddle that a quarter could notslip out even a full canter. So I moved tothe city and gave up riding forever.A REFRESHER COURSEThat is, until last week when the summersun, a balmy breeze, a light story load anda Phoenix photographer who doubles as aninstructor at Brooklyn%u2019s Culmitt Stableslured me back into the saddle. CheechBarber knows how to ride. I needed morethan just a refresher course. Perhaps whatis best about Culmitt Stables is that youdon%u2019t have to know how to ride (orremember how to ride) to feel like aregular Roy Rogers. They have horses forsmall, medium, and large people as well asgood, bad and indifferent riders. In thiscase the horses clearly know what they aredoing, so the rider can just sit back and enjoy the scenery on the trail ride.Getting to the bridle path at ProspectPark is, in fact, the most treacherous partof the journey. But here again, not toworry. Yes, toe cars whiz around toeParkside Ave. rotary with great speed andlittle care. But these horses know how tolook both ways before crossing the street.%u201cThey always watch for cars,%u201d saysCheech. %u201cI%u2019ve even seen riderless horsescome back and stop here to watch forcars.%u201d So, with the immediate danger of toerotary behind us, we proceed to ProspectPark%u2019s bridle path, Cheech atop Mr. Sea,and me on toe appropriately namedGlamour Girl.NO ONE IN PARKThere is no one in the Park this particularMonday morning. The horses slow to a rolling walk oblivious to the birds and squirrelsthat squatter at each hooffall. %u201cThey don%u2019tnotice much,%u201d says Cheech. %u201cI%u2019ve see soccer balls kicked between their legs and theydon%u2019t flinch. They are great trail horses.%u201dCulmitt Stable is toe last in a long line ofstables that used to circle Prospect Park.It%u2019s been under new management fra thepast month, and a renovation of the outsideof the stable %u2014 tucked neatly into WindsorTerrace sandwiching in a bowling alley %u2014is planned soon by Viola and MartySchmiate. Roughly 90 horses call toe stablehome during the winter, although thatnumber is significantly lower during thesummer months. %u201cWe send them to summ er cam p,%u201d says Cheech. The horses arerented out to local camps to be used for trailrides and lessons. %u201cIt%u2019s really a vacation forthem ,%u201d she says. %u201cThey crane back fat andhappy and ready to work.%u201dAnd work they do. Not only are toeCulmitt trail rides part of their routine; toeUrban Park Rangers also run their parktours with toe stable horses, and lessons bythe score are given atop the horses to people of all ages. Riding, you see, is not justfor little girls who dream of %u201cNationalVelvet.%u201d %u201cWe have some senior citizens whocome here to ride,%u201d says Cheech. %u201cAnd lotsof middle-aged people. It%u2019s never too late tostart to learn to ride.%u201d Monthly shows areheld, and judged by outsiders. %u201cThat%u2019s howwe get a lot of people. We have a show andthey%u2019re driving by. They see the show andthey are hooked.%u201dFAST AND HAPPYShows are terrific for people who knowhow to keep their heels down, and how tohold the reins tightly and lightly. But givem e a trail and the chance to go fast and I%u2019mhappy. A section of toe Park trail allows thehorses to canter for a bit, although a shortcut fra- beginners m isses this portion of theride. Glamour Girl decided to take theshortcut and was halfway up a hill before Icajoled her into turning around and doing alittle legwork. %u201cShe doesn%u2019t usually work onMondays,%u201d explains Cheech. %u201cI think shewants to go home.%u201d Personally, I think sherealized that she had a rusty rider onboard, and this was a test. I must havepassed, because with barely a squeeze ofthe knee we were cantering away (youcanter when you ride English %u2014 galloping isfor cowboys rally...) , Glamour Girl out infront until the very end of the run when shejust stopped %u201cThey always canter at thispart,%u201d says Cheech. %u201cThey%u2019re great hackTracy aboard Glamour Girl, who wasmore interested in lunching on the grassthan having her picture snapped.(Phoenix/Cheech Photo)I fi