Of Horses and Bigger Things...

About 28 years ago, I rode my first horse. I have no memory of it but Mom says it was in Maine and she and I rode Shiloh together. I was 18 months old and it was just the beginning. The first horse I rode solo was named Macho and he was so gentle and sweet you would swear he came to life right out of a children's book. I have vivid memories of riding with Mom (who was on Shiloh) down the road, over the old metal bridge, and out onto the rolling hills of NY farm country. I was four. I don't know what my worry-wort father thought of our jaunts, but I loved them. We moved to Buffalo and I bought my first horse. He was an appaloosa with one brown eye and one blue eye and as quirky as his mismatched eyes. I named him Cody. I was 11. I put many miles on that horse and he kept me company throughout my teenage years. Knowing that I would not have the time to ride, I sold him when I left for college. I missed him more than I missed some of my high school friends. Then the family headed south to rural Pennsylvania where I found Rajah and fell in love. He was 11 months old and I was 20. Life zoomed on . . . we moved several times, I got married, Shiloh passed away (he was 31 years old), and God blessed us with Janelle and Lilly. But horses have always been a part of my life.

So today when I sat on Summer (Mom's current horse) for the first time with Janelle tucked in front of me, I was practically beaming with pride. Especially considering this time last year, she refused to get within 10 feet of a horse without quivering in fear. There was not an once of fear today though. I rode Summer around the pasture once so Janelle could watch and then I asked her if she wanted up with me. "I DO want to ride with you, Mama!" Mom lifted her up to me and I think Janelle's grin was big enough to be seen from space. She was thrilled. We rode around the pasture as she chattered at me the entire time.

As we rode, I thought back over a lifetime of trail rides that Mom and I had taken together. Hours and hours spent wandering the countryside on horseback, chatting about anything and everything. We were mother and daughter and we were -are- friends. Suddenly, my joy had nothing to do with horses anymore. It was about the beautiful little girl in the saddle in front of me and the privilege of getting to watch her grow into a woman. And it was about my relationship with the amazing and inspiring woman who gave birth to me. I am blessed beyond measure on all sides.