From the Publisher – For the Love of Horses
Click here to read the complete article
I had the good fortune to attend my first major horse show in some time. Amy and I spent several days walking around the show visiting with old friends and making new acquaintances. We were able to watch some great horse and exhibitor teams compete for an amazing array of prizes. The experience was fantastic and I look forward to heading out to more shows as soon as my schedule permits me to escape the office.
I have to admit that while I was watching the world-class horses in the ring, my eye wandered to the show that was outside the ring. I saw friends greeting each other, sharing a glass of wine and sharing the latest news about their lives. I saw parents prepping their kids for the next event–making sure every last detail was attended to before they got ready to enter the ring. I saw trainers taking a moment from their busy schedule to sit down, relax and watch a class where they didn’t have a horse entered.
After the class I was watching was pinned, I left the arena and headed for the shops–portable retail outlets with everything and anything you might want to buy including jewelry, tack, clothing and so much more. However, as I headed toward the shopping area, my attention was drawn to one of the barns by the smell of fresh hay and the polite nickering of a bay with a blaze that was hanging its head out the partially opened stall door. I had to check it out. Maybe someone left the stall door unlatched and that horse was a moment away from being the subject of a roundup.
As I walked toward the stall, I realized my fantasy of having to rope this loose mustang and return it to its stall was not to be. Inside the stall was a young girl–probably 9 or 10–standing alongside the horse rubbing its belly and laughing. The more she rubbed, the more it nickered and shook its head. This was the show I was looking for. I rhetorically asked her if her horse liked having its belly rubbed and she shot me a look that told me the answer was obvious. I laughed, she laughed and the horse motioned for me to leave so she could get back to business.
As I walked away, I thought about why I love horses. Not why I love show horses and competition, but why I love horses. I decided to come up with the a list – The Top 10 Reasons I Love Horses. My apologies to David Letterman for stealing his schtick, but sometimes it’s hard to be original.
Anyway, here is goes. This is my list. I hope it inspires you to come up with a list of your own.
1. They smell good. There is nothing better than the smell of a horse and the barn where they live.
