So periodically I am driving along and something just jumps out at me… and I know that must be a blog post. It’s funny how a story can come together. I will make a note of something that pops into my head, on a sticky note no doubt, and when I have time I sit and compose my thoughts. Sometimes I will sit down with my laptop because I am in a writing mood and the stories just bang themselves out! I love those times! And sometimes it is a struggle for me to put into words what I am thinking or feeling. This was something I have thought about several times (since the original thought came to me). But it was a story I knew I wanted to write.

Mom and I were talking the other day about the greatness I have experienced from each of my horses. Where some were strong, others faltered. I had horses that have excelled at being fast and some that were slow. Some were ugly, but crazy talented. And others were just good all around. When I reminisce on all the great horses I have had the opportunity to swing my leg over in my lifetime, it really makes me appreciate each one of them. My first horse was a pony named Blue. He was a ornery pony! But I learned a lot from him… even after he hung me in a tree. I had a cutting mare that was so crazy talented but not very pretty. Dixie was just a plain sorrel and white paint mare and only stood about 14.3, but she was almost as wide as she was tall. Her looks didn’t matter though. When She would go to work on a cow… it was amazing! Poco was my faithful mount for about 14 years. He packed around every niece and nephew that we could throw at him. But he packed Emily and me around more than anyone else. That was a gelding I learned a lot with and from.

But the 3 horses that have the biggest impact on my childhood… were our mares; Sony, Windy and Dunny. We hauled these girls to playdays, open horse shows, trail rides and even Quarter Horse shows when I was younger. These horses were a part of some of my fondest memories growing up. I remember eating popsicles on a hot day at a horse show and picking up my first blue ribbon with them. But Dunny… she is the horse at the top of my list. I rode her every single day. I would come in from school, drop my back pack and head out to the barn to ride. We would be jumpers one day and running at the NFR the next. Some days we rode bareback and some we spent time to actually tack up. I worked on her rollbacks (which I am sure were not correct. they were just fast turns). I would stack buckets on a chair and make our jump course for the day. I would run scenarios through my head of how many times we had won a world championship. And sometimes I would get me a snack, grab ole faithful and ride her to the furthest round bale in the pasture, so we could snack together. She was the best friend a girl could have! She kept every secret I ever told her and participated in every dream I had. She was truly a fabulous one of a kind horse. She carried me to a Rodeo Queen title, she won me my first check at a barrel race and she stood Grand Champion mare at my 4H youth show. There is not a memory of her that I do not treasure. And even after losing her 17 years ago, it still breaks my heart.

Special horses are just that, special! But some are extraordinary. I have been so very blessed with the horses that have been a part of my life! Because of what each of them has given me, continues the desire for moving forward with my horses now. I don’t ever see a time in my life that horses will not be a part of it.

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”~Winston S. Churchill

“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.”~Winston Churchill

“In riding a horse we borrow freedom.” ~Helen Thomson