hoofers!!!!

Sorry this is so long! 😳

My interest in equines began at an early age. My parents took me to see Fantasia on one of its re-releases (probably 1982). My favorite movement was (and still is) the “Pastoral Symphony” by Beethoven. They also took me to see The Last Unicorn when it was released in 1982 and that helped started the love of all things unicorns.

When the time came for my fifth birthday (1983), my aunt and uncle were having trouble deciding what to get me while standing in a toy aisle at Toys R Us. They saw a little girl around my age and asked her is she could pick something what would it be. She made a bee line for the My Little Ponies and my aunt and uncle got me Twilight and Glory (a pair of unicorns I still have).

From that point on it seemed like everyone was giving me unicorns of all sorts. I have brass ones, porcelain and even one made out of silk.

When I got older and started reading for fun I picked up the Black Stallion series by Walter Farley. I devoured them, always wanting to go to the bookstore so I could get the next one in the series. Once I finished those, I wanted to read other horse books so I branched out into Marguerite Henry’s stories. I then moved on to the Saddle Club series by Bonnie Bryant and the Thoroughbred series by Joanna Campbell. I’m amazed at how many books exist in those series now. I quit reading them a long time ago and donated my books to the library at the Girl Scout camp I used to go to each summer.

I never got to ride a horse until I was in the eighth grade (1992). I was chosen to go on a Girl Scout Wider Opportunity to Nebraska that summer and there was going to be an opportunity to ride horses during the trip. I convinced my parents to let me take some horseback riding lessons before hand. I loved those Saturday lessons. Most of my lessons were on a pretty Buckskin mare. I also rode a Chestnut at one point, but I preferred the Buckskin. The riding on the trip was only a trail ride, but I loved it nonetheless.

I didn’t get to be around horses again for nearly 4 years. On the first day of my senior year of high school, I remember hearing an announcement early in the morning that said something about working at a horse farm in exchange for riding lessons. I hurried to the office to find out about it. I gave the owners of the horse farm a call and started helping out one or two Saturdays a month. I usually was cleaning the paddock area for the miniature horses, but I didn’t care. That’s where I fell in love with Appaloosas. Every horse on the farm was an Appaloosa, even though some didn’t show it much.

In exchange for my work I got English riding lessons. I loved that. The guys never had to correct me of my posture (aside from keeping heels down) when I got on the back of a horse. It just came naturally. I miss those days.

There was even a foal born on the farm that year. So adorable. His mother was the oldest broodmare they had at 20+ years. She was never happy unless she was pregnant or had a foal at her side. I still can’t believe that little foal would be 12 this year.

I tried to keep volunteering at the farm once I got to college, but with the course load and living on campus without a car (my parents lived in the same town) it made thing difficult. Every so often, I think about giving them a call to see how they are doing, but I’m not sure how well they would remember me after 12 years.

I originally started to go to college to be a veterinarian so I could work with horses, but unfortunately for me the science classes started kicking my butt early on. I retook a few of them, but the new grades weren’t much better, so rather than never getting into vet school I looked for a new major. I found one that let me keep most of the classes I had already taken without filling up too many of my free elective hours. That degree was agricultural journalism.

I enjoyed my journalism classes for the most part, didn’t enjoy some of the other agriculture classes I had to take (I still take revenge on chickens by eating them). I managed to graduate on time (in four years), but I went to school for 12 straight quarters to do so. With the degree I can work for a newspaper or a “breed specific” magazine, though considering I’m 8 years out of the loop on agriculture and 5 years out of the loop on the newspaper side that might be a little harder now.

While I was in college I met my husband through a friend of his. After we had gotten to know each other some I went to visit him in his hometown in Florida. We took a trip to the local mall and he showed me one of his favorite stores. Wouldn’t you know that store carried Windstones and they had a black female unicorn? Needless to say I snapped her up because I remembered loving to look at the Windstone unicorns at the Wicks N Sticks when I was reading all those horse books in the early 1990s.

I still love horses and want to be around them, but there aren’t any riding stables in my area that I’m aware of. I hope that wherever the hubby and I move to there will be one nearby. Then I can get back into riding horses.

I’ve still got the Black Stallion books. I’m not sure what happened to the Marguerite Henry ones though. I’m hoping Gavin will read the Black Stallion ones at least (and hey the main characters in almost all of them are males).

You were born in Kentucky? So I was, University of Kentucky hospital to be exact. We moved away when I was two so I don’t remember it much, though we did take a family vacation to Kentucky and Ohio so my brother and I could see where we had been born. My parents have a picture of me up on the Man O’War statue’s back.

No one ever gave me Breyers when I was younger. It wasn’t until I was 10-12 that a woman I knew gave me her daughters old collection. I never really displayed them. I held on to them for a while and ended up selling them on ebay a few years ago.

There are times where I wish I could have stuck it out and gone to vet school, but I’m not sure if I could stand to see animals suffering. While I might not have enjoyed my science classes I LOVED my labs that went with them. I always thought it was funny that I would get a C in the class, but an A in the lab. 😆

Hehe… I love Man O’ War. He’s my favorite racehorse! 🙂 I think the not getting breyers as a kid seems to be a common thing. I got a set of four when I was in high school, but the rest that I have, I had to buy (generally the once a year pilgrimage on black friday for 50% off).

Hehe… I love Man O’ War. He’s my favorite racehorse! 🙂 I think the not getting breyers as a kid seems to be a common thing. I got a set of four when I was in high school, but the rest that I have, I had to buy (generally the once a year pilgrimage on black friday for 50% off).

Man O’ War and Secretariat are my favorites. I have the Breyer versions of them. I still get a new Breyer occasionaly, but lately my pennies seem to be going to other things. I wonder what that might be…. 🙄 😆

Yeah, I seem to have that same problem too. I think our money goes to the same place 😆

Hehe… I love Man O’ War. He’s my favorite racehorse! 🙂 I think the not getting breyers as a kid seems to be a common thing. I got a set of four when I was in high school, but the rest that I have, I had to buy (generally the once a year pilgrimage on black friday for 50% off).

Eep! if you ever come back to the horsepark, lemme know, I live pretty close! It’d be neat to meet some folks from the forum! 😀 :D:D

We got to see him too! Several times actually…as we had all year passes for a few years in a row…I never miss breyerfest either…it’s held there, and is pretty cool. 😀 😀