It would be 6 years until she and I would cross paths after a few months of taking lessons at the new farm. My size and spitfire attitude led me to her as my trainer saw something about the two of us that seemed to fit. She offered me the opportunity of a project and I jumped. I've never owned my own horse, or even leased one, so given this scenario, I couldn't resist. I didn't realize at the time that I was going to pay for every moment in sweat equity and that this little unassuming mare would teach me more about my riding than the hundreds of horses and ponies before her. Fast forward to 6 months later and she's found herself a new owner, a show barn and a career. Someone to love her every bit as much as I did.
I can still remember the very first day I worked with her. She scared the living daylights out of me. Just catching her and bringing her in to the barn was a challenge. I had been warned that she kicks, rears, and will knock you out with cannonball-esque maneuvers with her head. You couldn't trust her, ever. She was the epitome of an alpha mare, of a chestnut alpha mare and she was never going to let you forget it. This was all before I ever dreamt of putting tack on her. I wondered how we would ever get to the point that I would be sitting on her back.
Our relationship grew stronger over the months, I started riding her and while every 3 or 4 rides she would act like a maniac, there were quiet days too of on-the-buckle rides around the perimeter of the farm, hand grazes and picnic lunches together, long days spent sleeping in the cross ties while I fawned over every inch of her, and of course I'll never forget her whinnying to me across the property or galloping to me in the dark at the sound of my voice.
She inspired this blog and helped me to start writing about my new journey with horses. She inspired me to keep moving forward with my riding...there were certainly days that I felt consumed with self-doubt with what I was doing on her, whether or not I could handle the responsibility. It's allowed me to draw strength when I am riding other horses, channel the experiences I had with her and try to apply them to horse I am riding that moment. She's inspired me to dig deep, sit up, and ride.
A few favorites:
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| April 10th, 2010 -- pulled out of the pasture |
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| September 24th, 2010 -- ready for a new owner |
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| this photo always makes me smile (my tattoo obtained 2 years before meeting Kiki) |
