HORSES

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Horses. What could be more magnificent than a horse? Nothing! At least not in the eyes of the young gal that once was I.

From the first time a horse looked at me with soft brown eyes and blew his nose in my face, I was hooked. My life became a quest to be around horses as much as possible. My mother’s quest became keeping me away from horses as much as possible. She was valiant in her efforts. To no avail!

I discovered ‘Ginger’ when I was 10 years old. He was the first love of my life.

Ginger was a 20 year old retired Standardbred owned by a family friend. He was a geriatric maniac. As we got acquainted with each other, Ginger discovered the joys of finding increasingly creative ways of dislodging my juvenile bum from his geriatric back. I discovered increasingly creative ways of keeping it firmly planted there!

My riding attire was sandals, shorts and a tee shirt that flapped in the wind when Ginger and I flew down the road faster than the speed of light. I must have had glue on the seat of my shorts, as I stuck to him like a magnet through all his many and varied attempts to dislodge me.

I then progressed to riding a fat Welsh pony who could run faster than a millipede. Riding this stiff-legged jackhammer was a feat of Thelwellian magnitude.

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(Illustration by Norman Thelwell.)

As time went on, I rode Hunters and Show Jumpers, took Classic Dressage lessons, and discovered the joys of Western Pleasure Riding.

My equestrian activities now consist of watching horse videos on Youtube. I ride my La-Z-Boy rocker like a pro! And it suits me just fine!

I hope you enjoy enjoy some of these wonderful videos as much as I do!

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• Cowboy Dressage: The Palomino

• English and Western Dressage

• Horse Love; Eva and Shilas

• The Cutest Baby Horse in the World

• War Horse – Sergeant Reckless

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