Picture a mom who doubles as a police dispatcher. No cell phones. Just a dime in your shoe and a horse under you. That was Lindy Burch’s childhood, and the three-hour check-in rule nearly grounded her for good.

The Rule That Almost Ended My Rides

Mom laid down the law: every three hours, come home or call.
“I’d get up before daylight, jump on my horse, take a little lunch… My mother would not have that. She said every two hours you've got to call me. I got her to change that to three hours, but still, that was tough. I just couldn’t do that. That was cramping my style.”

How Dad Built the Pigeon Loft

Lindy saw homing pigeons on TV and hatched a plan. Dad built a cage right outside the kitchen window. Six pigeons rode in saddlebags, each with a tiny note.
“My dad built a little homing cage right there at the kitchen window… my mother… scared to death of pigeons… would reach in there with an asbestos cooking glove that would go up her arm, pin the pigeon down, and pull the note off its leg.”

The Day the System Failed in the Dam

One ride took Lindy to the deep part of the dam. She swam the horse across—pigeons in the bags.
“We got caught in something… the horse went sideways, fell on its side, and I fell off. The horse and I both got out, but the pigeons did not make it.”
No more notes meant an early trip home and a soggy explanation. The pigeons retired, but the stories live on.

12/22/2025