December 28, 2010: Christmas Memories

Our first Christmas 5 years ago

Christmas is now over and what a wonderful holiday it was this year. I made peace with a few people, one in particular, because of a poem I'd like to share:

This Christmas
Mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend.
Write a love letter. Share some treasure.
Give a soft answer. Encourage youth.
Keep a promise. Find the time. Forgive an enemy.
Listen. Apologize if you were wrong.
Think first of someone else. Be kind and gentle.
Laugh a little. Laugh a little more.
Express your gratitude. Gladden the heart of a child.
Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the universe.
Speak your love. Speak it again. Speak it still once again.

After reading this, I realized what was important in life. Forgiveness can be one of the best gifts you give to yourself.

I got to spend time with people this Christmas as well. My immediate family on my Mom's side celebrated at my Grandma's house in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, with the pleasure of having my cousin, Travis and his girlfriend, Mel who flew in from Phoenix. We spent a couple of hours enjoying eachother's company and exchanging gifts before moving on to my Uncle Terry's house with the more extended family.

I met up with my Horse Family around 6:00. I snuck into the barn for a few precious Christmas Moments with Ray before I froze and had to run into the house. Ma cooked another wonderful meal that I ate as quickly as possible so I could play with 2 year old Caden. Caden and Connor will be the closest I ever have to nephews, so I try to spoil them the best I can.

We exchanged gifts and watching the kids get excited was enough of a Christmas for me. However, Ma and Pa gave me a bunch of wonderful clothes where I actually look high class. Maybe I can find a man now! :) Connor gave me a necklace for being his God Mommy.

Christmas Eve night, I went to a Lutheran church to watch one of my co-workers play guitar. It was a really nice service.

Christmas Day, Mom and Dad and I rushed over to Grandma's to have brunch and to say goodbye to Travis before he left. My parents and I exchanged gifts that evening in a quiet setting. We all received a lot of gifts, but my favorite was from my Mom. She gave me a Locket where I put 2 pictures of my Sexy Man, Ray.

December 14, 2010: A Red Dress Christmas (4th Annual)

It's that time of year again, and of course, it's freezing! It was 14 degrees out, however the wind wasn't too bad, very uncharacteristic of that side of town.

I've had a few people ask what I have on my Christmas list. The truth of the matter is, I have everything I want. Yeah, I'd like a 6 karat diamond ring and a man to match, but I don't think those things will fit on Santa's sleigh. Every year when I made out my list as a little girl, a horse was on it. My Christmas wish came true 5 years ago when I got Ray. And then again 2 years ago, when Quinn came along.

So Happy Holidays to everyone. I hope you have everything you desire this Christmas.

There is No Secret so Close as that Between a Rider and a Horse....

It's no secret that I love my horse. And, with that love, I love pictures of Ray and me together. We have a lot of photographs, but I wanted to do something different. Nothing dirty. Something quite the opposite. Something pure. The Lady Godiva idea came to me about a year before it was actually done. I told a couple of my friends about the idea, and they seemed receptive about it. I had worked with Shana and Blackberry Kisses Photography before and I knew I didn't want anyone else to do these photos but her. With her vision of class, I knew I would get exactly what I wanted. But I didn't, I got better. When I look at these photos, I see art. I see the pure love between a horse and his partner. And quite honestly, they choke me up everytime.





http://blackberrykissesphotography.com/

A Red Dress Christmas (3rd Annual)

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Ray, Quinn and I sure did, despite the Christmas Drama that plagues every family in one way or another.

Ray and I started the Tradition of A Red Dress Christmas 3 years ago, when I bought this beautiful, short, red dress. Completely impractical for a Wisconsin Winter, but no one has ever accused me of being practical. My dad took one look at the dress and said "What the Hell you going to do with that?" Anyone who knows my father, knows how... 'excited' he can get and, being an only child, I love to push his buttons. I told him I was going to take my Christmas pictures with Ray in that dress (not really being serious) and he told me I couldn't do that. Well, that was enough for me!

Every year now, I try to find that perfect red dress and no matter how cold it is, I go out with my horse and make a scene! :)

Happy Holidays everyone!

November 9, 2009: Bareback & Bridleless: Morrison, WI: State #1

I was having one of those days. You know what I’m talking about. Everything went wrong, I didn’t want to do anything, Life sucked! So, my best therapy is Ray. A lot of horse people say they pay their therapist in carrots and sugar cubes. Or in my case, puffy peppermints!

I called to Ray and brought him in to brush him up and the thought crossed my mind. Why not bridleless? F*** it! So we did. I took his halter and crossed the lead rope to make reins and I rode that way. All of my cares went away and all of my focus went on what I was doing! It was such a powerful experience. And Ray was marvelous, however, without having a bit in his mouth, he felt at liberty to eat when he felt like it. So, we took a lot of pit stops to grab a mouthful of stringy grass and it made me happy because he was.

November 7, 2009: Attacked by a Cat: Morrison, WI: State #1

What a beautiful day this had turned out to be. For a November in Wisconsin, we really lucked out! Unfortunately, I had sold my saddle. I needed a new one anyway and assumed we weren’t going to have any more nice days, so I sold it.

I called Ray from the pasture, and of course, he came running. I groomed him over, put the bridle in his mouth and off we went into the fields. As you already know, I love riding Ray bareback. I feel like we become closer and have a stronger bond. Nothing is in between us. We were riding along just fine, and Ray, of course was a pro. We were coming up on some thick grass and I barely remember hearing a noise, when that darn black cat, that stalked us before, came out of nowhere and hissed at us like a cougar! Well, Geez, my heart stopped so you can only imagine what Ray did! He went up on his hind legs and I didn’t have a chance… Down I went. Luckily, my trusty stead didn’t go too far. Once I fell off, he stopped and kind of looked at me like, “I’m not sure why you are on the ground, but I didn’t do it! And if I did, I didn’t mean too!” I got up, dusted myself off and checked him out to make sure he was ok. Unfortunately, I haven’t mastered the art of getting on bareback without a stool, so I did the walk of shame home with a bruised butt and a bruised ego.

September 20, 2009: Riding Bareback: Morrison, WI: State #1

Ray did so well the day before I decided to take him out in the field again but this time I was going to ride him bareback. Bareback riding is something I am just not accustomed to, but yet it fascinates me. Since Ray really can’t run right now, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity for me to get use to riding this way.

I shined Ray up a bit and put the Bridle in his mouth and started to walk him out of the barn.

‘Pa’ comes out and says “Where you goin’?”

“We’re going to ride in the field again” I said.

“Well, aren’t you forgetting something?”

I paused for a second, looked Ray over then myself and said “No, I don’t think so”.

‘Pa’ then said “Well, aren’t you going to put a saddle on that crazy Arab?”

I laughed and grinned “Nah, he’ll be fine”

“Okay, well, I’ll get the 4-wheeler ready in case you need me. Want me to feed him when he comes back before I get ya?”

“Sure, that sounds great” I told him.

As I explained last time, Ray got a lot taller on me, so I had to grab the mounting block. It wasn’t pretty getting on him, but I struggled up and got comfortable. I gave Ray a gentle ‘click’ and off we were.

The nice thing about riding bareback is you get to feel, wholeheartedly, what your horse underneath you is doing. Every step, every tail swish, you feel it until it becomes a part of you. Every time he moves a muscle, it’s as if where you connect becomes one. His muscles become yours. Until, quite literally, the two of you unite.

We had an amazing ride despite a black cat that started stalking us. I saw it’s green eyes hunting us, and while I’m not usually one to recoil from a challenge, I thought it best not to fight this one today. We stopped as the sun started to go down just underneath the trees. It was so bright I couldn’t look directly at it, but I leaned down and hugged Ray’s neck. At this moment, I was happy. True happiness is so rarely felt, but this one of those occasions.

September 19, 2009: Morrison, Wisconsin: State #1

It turned out to be a beautiful day today, so when I got done with work, I went to the barn to see Ray. There’s something about being at work on a Saturday knowing that you can see the man you love right after you get done.

Ray, as you know, is my 6 year old Black Arabian. I got him when he was 2 and I wonder how I ever lived without him. Despite everything in the past 4 years, Ray has always been my constant. In January, he hurt himself. He cut his hock real bad and to this day, I’m dealing with it. I have not ridden him since last year about this time, simply because I have been babying him, so I thought today might be a good day.

I saddled him up and he stood like a champ. Despite having a year off, he knew what to do. We went into the yard and I saddled up. Little did I realize how much bigger Ray had gotten on me. Last year he was a measly 14.3 hands and now he had sprouted up to be an impressive 16 hands. As I struggled to get my 5 foot 2 leg up in the stirrup, I paused to look at him. Wow, he really has grown up. He has such a presence about him now. Quite stunning how his black coat shines in the sun and his beautiful espresso eyes glimmer. I could go on for hours, but I’ll save that for a different time.

We rode around the hay field on the property. Not an exciting ride to the Average Joe, but to me, this was one of the best rides I’ve ever been on because it was with my boy! It was almost as if he didn’t forget a thing. Nothing seemed to bother him. It could be that I wasn’t uptight, so then he wasn’t. I’m not really sure.

As we rode in the open field, I could feel Ray getting excited and wanting to go. He has so much heart and as much as I wanted to let him go, with his leg, I just couldn’t. I made him walk and it broke me as much as it did him. Nothing is better than letting him go and letting the wind whip through his mane and my hair. At that point, we are one, or at least as close to one as possible. The wind picked up and it started teasing him with a game of tag. We’d have to forfeit this game…