My Introduction Letter

 You're probably wondering why another blog?  Better still, why another horse blog?  There are tons of them out there, just try googling 'Horse or Equestrian blogs' and holy moly, you'd think every horse person had a case of writers itch, desperately wanting to share every detail of their otherwise average life.  Yeah, its true. It is probably the number one reason I hesitated and stalled on even starting all this.  Well, that and the fact I find putting the tumble of words in my head onto paper (or screen) a huge challenge.  My mind tends to start leaping down a million bunny trails by the end of the first paragraph and, well, reining it in has never been my strong suit.

So, why then?  Hmm, honestly its hard to explain.  For me, the biggest reason is over the last 16 years I have worked as a 'professional' (yes, there is the " but it will become clearer why as we go on...) horse person, and I've seen shit.  Pardon the language, but I can't seem to find a better word to describe it.  I've been through shit, good and bad, and I feel the need to put it down, to try and make sense of it.  I also wanted a place to air my ideas and methods, that explains my philosophy and gives me a place to talk it all out.  Not exactly ground breaking, but hey, maybe it will be entertaining.

I'm not an amazing writer- I love to read, and I do honestly love to write.  But I am one of those individuals who tend to see my own strengths and weaknesses pretty clearly, and I know my writing is weak.  But still, I'm hoping you will grant me a little grace, and stick around as I try and put my thoughts out there as honestly as I can.  This isn't an ego trip either, by the way.  I am pretty hard on myself, so I know theres not much for me to brag about.  But still, I feel like someone out there (is there anyone out there??) might learn from my experience, or maybe feel a certain connection to my ideas.  Heres hoping anyway.

Anja and I doing our thing at the Walter Zettl clinic

Heres a little info about me before I begin.  I'm 30 something, female, married with a teenage step-daughter, owner of (currently) 2 farms.  Ones kinda for sale.  I have 4 horses, 1 Great Dane, and several cats.  I started riding at 10 and knew immediately that this was what I wanted to do.  I was born into your average middle class family, limited funds and all, and slowly worked my way through many different situations until I became a horse owner and riding coach.  I am not wealthy, I do not have sponsors.  I have made my way working hard and riding what I could manage to afford. Showing was a luxury I have often lived without.  I live in a very cold, harsh area of Canada not known for its horse industry, and yet despite our relatively small numbers, we still manage to have as much drama as bigger communities.  Ah, the joy.  About 12 years ago I fell in love with Classical Dressage, and its been my passion ever since.  My hero's include Phillipe Karl and Anja Beran.  I actually attended a Phillipe Karl Clinic in Toronto several years ago, and actually met him!  My dream would be to someday ride with them, and have them say "nice job" at the end of the lesson. Hope springs eternal.  I also had the opportunity to ride under Walter Zettl, and had an amazing time! He really helped validate my training philosophy, with lots of positive feed back.  I do also try and take regular clinics, with teachers who share similar ideas.

Well, thats it! I hope you found my first post, my introduction letter, interesting enough that you'll stick around and read more!