Back in the Saddle

Last Saturday my friend Carla let me tag along when she went out to visit her horse. She even let me ride for a bit.   I didn't ride for very long because holy cow am I out of shape! I am kind of embarrassed to admit how sore I was the next day though.  Riding is a good workout!

I had a blast though, riding and grooming and just hanging at a ranch where horses were.

It has been a long time since I got to do any of those things.

This is Carla's horse Jessie.  Isn't she beautiful?  Carla has had her since she was a baby and she even broke her herself!  That amazes me.  She is so sweet and mellow and such fun to ride. Carla has done such a great job with her.

Riding Jessie brought up a lot of fond memories for me.  I had forgotten how peaceful I feel on the back of a horse.


For many many years horseback riding was a huge part of my life.

I used to be a stable girl.      :)



From the ages of 12-26 I had a horse.  Every day I hung out at the stables.  I met some of my best friends there, and we are still friends today.

Riding again got me to thinking about the horses I had over the years.

I wish I had pictures of my first horse.  He was an Arabian named Karim.  I loved him so but soon I wanted to be more serious about riding and showing so I gave him away to a friend and got my next horse, Sandman.

This is Sandman.   He was my baby.

He was supposed to be my show horse but it turned out he didn't have it in him so he was delegated to my best friend and I showed other people's horses from then on.  

Oh how I loved him.  And my bangs in this picture.  Awesome.

Riding consumed every moment that I had outside of school. 

Here I am with my Sees-ter and her horse Shuttle.

I showed in a couple of small horse shows close to home and loved it so much I decided to get serious about it.  I had wanted to show Quarter Horses but showing Sandman didn't work out and somehow found myself on the Appaloosa circuit instead.

Appaloosas are beautiful horses.  So colorful and each one is unique.


This is Cara.  She was owned by my trainer and was the horse I showed for on for 4 years.

I think am about 14 in this picture.  I can't believe I was ever that thin.

This is Sunny.  I showed her only for a year or so.  She was sweet.

Kind of a blurry picture. 

I rode Sunny both English and Western, but I only showed Cara Western. That was my real love.  

I never really took to English riding.

Here I am with some of my trophies.  I had never competed in any kind of sport before so it was pretty cool to compete and win so many awards.   I did quite well showing and one year was number one in the State of CA, and 7th in the nation.  

In 1993 I was asked to ride in the Rose Parade with a group of riders who placed top 10 in the state of CA.  It was so much fun and such an honor to be asked!  I don't have many pictures from it though.  

What a fun walk down memory lane.  I miss riding.  If I had the chance (and the money and time) to own another horse, I would in a heartbeat.

And now my niece Grace is starting horseback riding lessons and Lisa says she loves it as much as we did when we were her age.  Lisa and Scott  are in sooooooo much trouble.

I am hoping she will let me her ride her new horse next time I come visit!  ;)