A story of friends, horses, trails and long days in north Florida
Riding her horse with a group of girlfriends to Terwilliger Pond for swimming, horse shows, University of Florida homecoming parades and lunches at Sonny’s barbecue formed the basis for friendships that would last a lifetime for Becky Munden … and would become the subject matter for a recently published book for young adults, “The Idylwild Cowgirls.”
“We didn’t call ourselves ‘cowgirls’ back then,” says Munden, who is president of Sun Surgical Supply in Gainesville, Fla. “The ‘cowgirls’ comes from some narrative at the end of Chapter 1 in the book.” But if they weren’t called by that name, in the early 1970s, they looked and acted like a group of cowgirls. Their story was written and recently published by one of them, Debra Segal.
Idylwild is a neighborhood in Gainesville, Fla., located near Idylwild Elementary School, explains Munden. “I would describe it as a country setting. The roads in the neighborhood were paved, but the roads around it, like Crown Road, were all dirt.
“The area has remained much the same, despite some new construction,” she continues. “The biggest change is that much of the land has been purchased, and the owners have put up fences, making some of the back trails no longer accessible for riding. Today, where Oaks Mall sits – that was open field.”
But in 1973, the year in which the story takes place, the six girls had plenty of places to ride, and they spent many of their summer days doing just that.
“We had all this freedom,” says Munden. “We didn’t have beepers or cellphones, just 10 cents in case we needed to make a phone call. But the horses were so in tune with where we lived, I could let go of the reins on Speedy and let him take me home.” Speedy also knew to move out of the way at the distant sound of an oncoming car.
“As children, Debra was fascinated by nature, animals and her environment in general,” says Munden. “I can’t remember a time she specifically mentioned she was interested in writing. [But] I wasn’t surprised by her writing this book.”
Segal had initially intended her story to be about growing up on a farm, but she turned her attention to her days riding with her friends. “She reached out to me and the other ‘cowgirls,’” recalls Munden. “We all had dinner and some wine, and spent an evening laughing and crying as we recounted our horse stories.”
The book has been a hit in Gainesville, where Segal, Munden and some of the other cowgirls have participated in book signings. But the biggest payoff has been in renewing old friendships and recalling good times.
“It’s great – incredible – for Debbie to bring back some of those memories and the history of Gainesville, along with the serenity of our riding days,” says Munden. “I’m proud of her for doing that.”
From the book jacket of “The Idylwild Cowgirls:”
The Idylwild Cowgirls gallop through a memorable summer of adventure, independence, and courage only to find themselves struggling to survive the perils of nature and the predicaments from their foolhardy decisions. When a neighbor threatens to pave the historic, oak-lined dirt road, the cowgirls rally together to protect their beloved Idylwild neighborhood. Filled with gutsy explorations and heart-warming friendships, this story captures the remarkable bond between girls and their horses.