By Rita Thompson Tinsley
On a warm summer day in 1958, nine-year-old Cecilia Pemberton loaded up her trusty mare with supplies for a trip from her family’s ranch in Prescott to visit the Black Cat Bar in Seligman nearly 75 miles away. This was a journey full of adventure, but then Cecilia was used to that.
The Pemberton family moved from the Phoenix area to Prescott when she was seven. From day one, Cecilia begged her parents for a horse. A couple of years later, a close family friend, legendary world-class rodeo champion Chuck Sheppard, came through with her much-desired wish. He arrived with a small dark mare in tow which he referred to as a “broom tail pony.”
When Cecilia got a glimpse of that horse, it was love at first sight. She approached the mare, and it laid its head on her chest. Her arms encircled the mare’s neck in a warm embrace. She had arrived in a halter that sported a heart embellishment, so she named the horse Sweetheart.
Cecilia and Sweetheart became fast friends and constant companions. She rode the horse almost every day and everywhere, mostly bareback. She compares her exhilarating rides to being in flight, her arms outstretched at each side like wings.
Flying was something that runs in her family. Cecilia’s dad was a pilot in the US Army Air Corps. Like his daughter’s love for flying by equine, Leonard Rhett Pemberton became at one with a flying machine.
After learning multiple maneuvers in war duty, Leonard found himself to be exceptionally gifted. Keenly in control of every move, his flying instruments were powered by shear passion and precision. Leonard became a flight instructor and went on to perfect his capabilities of aerobatics or stunt flying.
Aerobatics are taught to military fighter pilots as a means of developing flying skills and for tactical use in combat. For Leonard, aerobatics became more like tricks and great fun in the air.
Prepared for her long journey, Cecilia and Sweetheart trotted off for Ash Fork. But the horse and rider were not completely alone. Along came Smokey, the tough-as-nails blue point Siamese cat, who would scamper along with them.
When he grew tired, Smokey would stop, and Cecilia would ride to him so that Smokey could jump up onto Sweetheart’s withers and take a well-deserved cat nap. The family duck decided to waddle along as well.
But a family trip would not be complete without Dad Leonard flying overhead in his Cessna, ensuring that Cecilia and Sweetheart were correctly on route. He would even fly low and tip his wing toward a creek or water source he could see from the air so that Cecilia would know where to take Sweetheart to quench her thirst and graze for a bit.
When the travel crew arrived at Seligman, they found the Black Cat Bar, which happened to be an old and treasured establishment because of its location on Route 66. Cecilia looked around but couldn’t find any hitching posts or rails where she could tie Sweetheart. About that time, several men came spilling out from the Black Cat, curious to what this young girl, her horse, and a feline furball were doing in the parking lot.
When it was apparent there was nowhere to tie her horse, they insisted she bring the horse into the building which she did without hesitation.
Sweetheart made quite an impression that day, along with Smokey—who took advantage of the abandoned drinks at the bar. Meanwhile, her dad found a field in which to land and got a ride to the Black Cat to join in the fun and excitement.
This was a day when hoof prints made more than an impression on the ground. A girl got her dream on her dream horse with the best of loyal friends surrounding her, including her dad watching over her from the air above. What more in life does a gal need?
