I Blame It On Them...

My mom recently threatened to set up a match.com account for me... apparently she's decided I need to get a move on and get married. I even had my friends threatening to do the same thing on E-Harmoney tonight.Aside from a few bad past relationships and a crappy family life growing up, I blame my lack of a social life, and a guy on my horse and these three girls....

Above - Megan & Belle, Rio & I, Crystal & Sky
Below - Christian & Rio

 I've always had an obsession with horses, but it seems to have grown ten fold since I found people to ride with who have the same goals as I do. When I was a kid I was more then happy to have my little rescue horse and be able to ride at all. But, when we'd attend the National Western or go out trail riding at the local hack stable I'd find myself wistfully wishing I had a horse I could show, or at the very least other riders my age to hang out with. I wanted to join the Westernaires (if you don't know who they are check them out by clicking the link) so badly even tough I was not a western rider just to be around other kids who rode more seriously. My parents just did not have the time or finances to support those dreams, and as I got older and took on the majority of the horse expenses myself through high school, college, and on to adulthood neither did I.

Growing up I got my fix from reading the Saddle Club series, and daydreaming what it might be like to go riding with characters Stevie, Lisa, and Carol weather it be going to a schooling show, riding on a haunted Halloween Trail Ride, or taking horses out camping and getting lost in the woods. I read every horse book known to man, and watched every horse movie, and on the rare occasion I got to take my little mare to a 4-H meeting with neighbors down the road who had a trailer I lived for it despite the fact she pretty much hated leaving home and would spend the hour trying to find a way to buck me off.

Moving from the small backyard properties I grew up with and into my first real boarding barn setting in College was a step in the right direction towards achieving my goals of riding with a group and working towards showing, but even then it was difficult to juggle.

When I moved to the Central Florida area I got my first real exposure to off sight trail rides with my gelding who, unlike my barn sour little quarter horse mare, actually loves trail riding. And, in the last year I had the opportunity to meat up with the three aforementioned culprits shown above.

I fallowed them to our current barn even though I loved Seminole Stables where we'd been for a couple of years because having my own little pony club of friends seemed to be falling into place... good things come to those who wait, pray daily, and work their butts off. Despite some drama with the current barn owner... a long story for another day... I'm still convinced that all things happen for a reason. Had I not moved to the barn we are at now I never would have met our current instructor, who in four lessons has made more progress with me and my Appaloosa horse then then our last dressage instructor did in a years worth of lessons. More on that in a future blog to be sure. And, with other friends to ride with weather its a training session in the ring or a road trip out to the trails its just that much more motivating to put in the effort to get to the barn consistently.

Riding 6-10 hours a week on top of working 60 hours a week has been a challenge. I'm often tired, and grumpy about the prospect of dragging myself to the barn at the end of a long day, but 20 minutes in and I don't want to leave. For once in my life I feel just a little bit like an athlete. And, for the first time since graduating college and moving further south I have  group of friends who all like riding as well... Riding pretty much is my social life...

So, I've come to the conclusion that I just need to find a guy who will tolerate, or better yet love horses and the horsey lifestyle as much as I do, because I don't see that part of my life changing anytime soon.

Anyone know a single cowboy?