Happy Birthday!

Welcome to 2012 and big Happy Birthday to all racing-bred Thoroughbreds out there!

Today is also the anniversary of the day I bought my own horse, also a Thoroughbred.  In fact, my dad used to joke what a poor financial decision we made buying my horse on his birthday.  Instead of buying a spry six year-old, we bought an older, depreciated seven year old.

If you're not a TB person, all TB racehorses have the same technical birthday.  For example, my horse was really born in March, but his official date of birth is January 1st.  So he was considered one year old on that date even though he was technically only 10 months old.  This has to do with races which are broken down by age groups, like the Kentucky Derby being a race only for three year-olds.  The goal is to have your foal born as soon after January 1st as possible so as to give it more time to develop.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Thoroughbreds!

A Phone Call that Changed Everything...

It was on this date ten years ago that I received what would turn out to be a very important phone call.

Christmas was over, all the presents unwrapped and food devoured.  I was home alone while my parents were out to dinner when the landline rang.  It was my trainer.  She called to tell me about a horse that was in the barn on trial.

Earlier that year, my parents had finally decided that the time and circumstances were right for me to have my first horse. So, we embarked on a journey to find a horse that fit my dad's requirements (both temperament and height) as well as our budget.

 Horses were tried and I became so desperate to have a horse that I could be heard saying after each trial, "I liked that one.  We should get him.  Please?" I said this even after riding a horse that tried, painfully, to scrape me off on a post.  Such was my desire to have a horse to call my own.

So, it was with eager attentiveness that I listened to my trainer's description of the horse.  He was in the barn on trial for another rider who was also looking.  She had decided that she didn't like him and my trainer thought maybe we would like to see him while he was still there.  He was a bit of a diamond in the rough, she said, but he had potential.  More importantly, he was quiet, tall, and in our budget.

His trial was almost up, so if we were interested we would have to look at him quickly and decide even more quickly.  I promised that I would tell my parents about it as soon as they got back.  As soon as I hung up the phone with my trainer, I squirmed and jigged around the house in excitement.

 If my parents had possessed a cell phone at the time you can bet I would have called them straight away.  However, they did not so I had to content myself to wait anxiously, hoping and praying that this horse, would finally be the one that would be my horse.  I swear a dinner never took so long as the one my parents ate that night.

We did go to see this horse and he was everything we wanted and more, but that's a different story.  This story is about a phone call, one that I still think of every December 28th.  Sometimes, one simple little phone call can change everything.

Merry Christmas!

For everyone who celebrates and everyone who doesn't, I hope today is filled with family, friends, love and good times.

 I hope today is a wonderful escape from our hectic day-to-day lives and that we are able to remember the things that are really important to us.

I hope that if you asked for a pony for Christmas, you got a pony.  If not, I hope your pony comes along real soon.

I hope you have fun and enjoy whatever it is you're doing today.

 My Christmas Pony many years ago...

Merry Christmas!

My Horsey Christmas List

Dear Santa,

This year for Christmas, I find that my wish list (aside from World Peace and family health) is filled with practical mundane must-haves.  I could tell you about how I need new barn shoes because the soles of mine have finely parted from the rest and I'm getting sand in my shoes, or that my string gloves are more hole than glove, that I need a new keeper for the strap on my helmet, or that I'm dreaming of new breeches that accommodate my ever-expanding thighs, but that wouldn't be fun for either of us.

Instead please find enclosed what my list might look like if I weren't a poor college student with an extreme lack of money.  Or you know, feel free to steal these ideas for other equestrian's on your list!

1. This adorable custom plush pony. Allright, I guess you could argue, Santa, that I'm not a baby and maybe a little too old, but look how cute it is! I almost want my siblings to have kids just so I can buy them each one of these plushies.

From monpetitamourbaby

2. I have to give Chronicle of the Horse the credit for finding this one. I love everything about these: love the idea of taken Breyers that have seen better days and repurposing them, love the concept, and love that they come in different prices in case you can't afford a big one.

From HoundstoothDesign

3.  Credit goes again to COTH and I doubt I could convince my boyfriend to put this behind our bed, but again I would have loved one of these as a kid.  Furthermore, I wish I had thought of this idea as an adult.  Kudos to go to mjoydesign for creative thinking!

Again, by mjoydesign

4. I like this shirt. a lot.  Though I have to say, a horse doesn't have to be a show horse to be wonderful.

For $22.00 from RefineryShop

5. Yes, I still color and yes I love these.

For $20.40 from RedElmDesigns

6. For some jewelry: I love the Scandinavian Dala Horses.

For $35 from TheClayPony

Moving away from Etsy (though I do love it a lot)...

7.This is purely traditional for me, as I try to get one every year that I can (although I don't remember them being quite so expensive!).

For $59.99 From Breyer

8. Dana's Doodles has a lot of cute designs and options but this one is my favorite because it embodies how I always viewed my horse, and what a great idea for a stall sign!

For $29.99 from Dana's Doddles

9.  Sometimes, as a horse person I find I have to rein in (sorry) my enthusiasm when it comes to other aspects of my life. It can be so easy to see something that I would otherwise think was tacky and buy it simply because it has a horse on it, but that's not the case with the totally adorable and tasteful apron. 

For $36.99 from ModCloth

10. All right, so technically I already have this book, but it totally was on my wish list until someone gave it to me for my birthday, so that counts, right? I can't wait to read it!

Hardcover for $16.59 from Amazon

In closing, Santa, I hope you know that a horse is always on my list and you wouldn't even have to gift wrap him!

Love,

EquestriAnnie

Abby

In the past, I've written about two of my favorite horses, Eddie and the Hony Mare, who were instrumental in my horse career. Well now, I'd like to talk about the first equine in my life and I even have a photo to share:

This is Abby, or my Nanny Pony as I sometimes call her.  She wasn't technically mine at any point, but in my heart she was and always will be mine.  You can't see the halo in this picture, but no doubt about it, Abby was a saint.

She was the sweetest, sanest, most dependable pony there ever was.  My dad tells me that she was so safe, that when he was teaching, he would help me tack her up and then throw me up on her in the indoor arena.  He told me he would close all the doors and gates and then go teach a student in the outdoor arena, periodically checking on me to make sure I was ok.  There was never, not once, a mishap.

I would give Abby a little thump with my tiny heels every once in a while, and she would oblige me with a couple of steps of jog, before slowing to her sedate and steady walk.  I remember riding in the indoor telling Abby stories where she and I were on wild adventures together or I'd sing to her the little nonsensical songs I came up with in my precocious childhood.

Abby was my very first best friend and I could not have asked for a better one.   She listened to me for hours on end (no mean feat) and gave me a sense of independence. Those few years of having Abby as my nanny were truly awesome.  However, eventually my parents told me that Abby's owners had taken her back.

It wasn't until two years ago that my naivete vanished a little and I figure out what had really happened. Although, I suppose depending on your religious views, that's exactly what happened.  It certainly does comfort me to think that Abby, Jack and now Eddie, the horses who took such great care of me in life, are still keeping an eye on me from a better place.

I hope that every little girl who dreams of horses gets to have an Abby in her life.  While they are a bit more expensive, ponies like her truly make great babysitters!

He Rode And Lived To Tell The Tale

A while back I posted about trying to take my boyfriend for his first horseback riding experience.  Then I was bummed when that didn't happen, but now I can say that I successfully took my boyfriend riding.

Our University's riding club decided to take a fall trail ride before the weather got too cold.  Several of the girls brought their boyfriends along for the ride (pun, sadly, intended).  We had a blast!

I was like a proud mama on her kid's first day of school.  I took so many pictures and my boyfriend, bless him, did not roll his eyes in a single one.

A cute guy, a horse and a dog makes the prefect picture in my book.

We went to a large establishment with about 25 horses waiting for our group and another trail ride group.  The mounted us up according to hight with my boyfriend being the first one up.  Well that worked out for me, because it meant more time for me to be taking pictures!

My boyfriend took everything in stride (man I'm really on a roll today!) and looked right at home on his mount, Chief.  He was even voted "best heels" of the group by me and a friend!

You better believe that I was coaching my boyfriend in the car ride there.  Of course, I emphasized the importance of having your heels down, but then I started to say "now if you canter..." when my boyfriend interrupted with, "It's my first time on a horse! I'm not going to be doing any cantering!"

I felt extremely sheepish for getting so carried away.  Of course he wasn't going to canter!

Well..... due to a miscommunication in which the trail guide thought we were ALL members of a riding team, not only did he canter but he cantered repeatedly! And now I'm sure he'll never doubt me again. (yeah right.)

I was so proud of him for doing so well and so excited to finally be able to share with him even a tiny sliver of this sport, these animals, that mean so much to me.

How soon is too soon to start suggesting that now we need to get two horses? Just kidding honey if you're reading this!




not really :)

NaNoWriMo

I have decided to challenge myself and expand my horizons again, only this time in the literary world.  Also, I'm hoping it'll be fun.

For the next 30 Days, I will be participating in National Novel Writing Month.  The challenge: to write a little every day (roughly 1,600 words) to end up with a 50,000 word essay or the beginning of a novel.

So, on top of my schoolwork, lessons, work and the blog, I will now be writing fiction everyday.

If I remember correctly, the last story that I wrote involved a palamino mare who walked on her hind legs and wore a dress.  To be fair I was rather young, but this should still be interesting.

So, if I am a bit absent this month, it's because I'm furiously imagining and writing my butt off!

Wish me luck!