When did I first want a horse? When did I first fall in love with horses? I can’t ever remember a time when I didn’t want a horse or didn’t love them. I have pictures of me, somewhere between the ages of 2 and 4, in my cowgirl outfit. Those were always some of my favorite pictures. Whenever my family and I would be on a drive and I’d see horses, I would yell “slow down” and I would fill myself up with the sight, sound, and even the smell of them. But I was a “city girl” and there was no room in my yard for a horse and no money for one either. I read every Marguerite Henry book I could get my hands on and many of the Farley books as well. And, I dreamed of the day when I would finally have my own horse.

I was happy to even get to go to a State Park and sit on one of their trail horses, you know, the kind you could fall asleep on and not worry about not ending up right back at the barn after a slow plodding trip.

I have always thought that the horse was one of God’s most beautiful creatures. The sight and sound of horses has always lifted my spirits. But I had to survive on my hopes and dreams for a long, long time.

My favorite “vision” was seeing myself on a beautiful horse running along the beach on a bright and sunny day, my long hair and my horses long mane and tail flowing out behind us lost in exhilaration and freedom.

I think feelings of freedom in the outdoors -- being with your horse partner/friend is one of the best, most uplifting feelings I know.

So, after years and years of surviving on dreams, I married my first husband, and in about 1975, I finally had a horse in the flesh, on my own property – my dreams had come true! She was a young Tennessee Walker who had been shown a bit but wasn’t going to show well enough to satisfy her previous owner. Looking back, I don’t think my husband and I were very savvy horse shoppers. The horse was a very pretty chestnut, but with my very limited horse experience, a few lessons here and there, State Park riding, etc. I should have gone for the older, more experienced horse. I probably should not have considered looks, and the possibility of breeding her -- did I actually think I would make money? As it was, both the horse and I were inexperienced and probably not the best match. My major learning came from reading a lot, and while that is good, it wasn’t enough to make me feel really safe. I had not developed the confidence I needed to make my horse owning experience a great one. When I look back and see how little I really knew, and how close to harm we came, I sometimes wonder how I survived. When the girls started coming along in ’77, ’78 and ‘81, there wasn’t much time for “Honey” so we decided to breed her, enjoy that experience and then, difficult decision though it was, to sell her and the foal. I’d had my mare for maybe 5 years. So the dream ended.

For a year or so the pasture was empty and then we decided to get something to help keep the grass down. We considered sheep, a cow or two, etc. We ended up finding a couple oversize miniature horses – stallions, no less – who moved in and took a place in our hearts. The kids loved Smokey and Bandit. It was a little difficult for me to ride them though; my feet kept dragging the ground. They were our pets and we enjoyed them until my husband and I were divorced and 3 years later in 1992 I moved to Noblesville – no property for a horse any longer and we had to find a home for our minis. This was the saddest part of the move for all of us.

For the next 10 years I was horse free. I thought it wasn’t likely I’d ever have another horse. I married my husband of 5 years in 1999. In 2001 he couldn’t decide what to get me for my birthday. (What luck!) He was tired of buying me jewelry and, by coincidence, an acquaintance of his approached him about buying a horse. His first response was “no way, I don’t need a horse!” but on my 52nd birthday he surprised me, and I mean surprised! me by taking me out to see my new horse, a 13 year old, black Tennessee Walking Horse mare. He said she was mine if I wanted her. I really thought he was pulling my leg. I didn’t believe it. He is not a horse person – poor man! I would have bet you a bunch of money that he would never be the one to come up with this idea. The thought had come to me, once in a while, that if I didn’t get a horse pretty soon, I would be too old. And here he was offering her to me. WOW! Even better, she was another Walking Horse; I love the smooth ride!

I wanted her but I was a little scared, too, that my experience would be similar to my first – full of hopes but frustrating and not as much fun as I hoped. So with some trepidation, I took her. I mean I really couldn’t turn her down; I had to be optimistic that this would be a better experience. Luckily, after having her about one year, I went to a Parelli Success with Horses Tour and I was inspired. I bought the Level 1 kit and began my journey to having the horse partner I had always wanted. It started off well but I began to get frustrated with my progress or lack of it. It seemed too slow. I audited clinics and got some help and new inspiration but it wasn’t until I found Wayne Albright at Stone Creek Ranch after Velvet and I attended a clinic there, that I developed my skill level and confidence to a point where I feel good – not good enough to quit working on the Parelli program or to quit taking lessons from Wayne but confident enough to ride the trails on his property by myself. My first real trail ride was on his property on my second or third lesson. After a month of biweekly lessons I went with him and others from the ranch to Brown County. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that but wanted to go so I asked Wayne, who’d worked with “Velvet” for 3 months, if he thought we were ready. He said, “Well, Velvet is ready so if you can stay on….” I figured he knew our competency level so if he wasn’t discouraging me, I was ready for my first big trail ride. We went and had a great time! I have never had so much fun with my horse or felt so good about what’s ahead.

I’m looking forward to many new and exciting experiences on horseback, And to meeting all of you RHPC girls.