A Romantic Ride

Hi Everyone,

I’ve always been a romantic when it comes to horses. As a child I daydreamed about a fictional horse barn near us where the perfect horse would be available for me to ride any time (perfectly free, of course). I never let dreaming get in the way of doing, however. I would muck stalls, feed, teach beginner lessons, anything to earn free rides or just be around the horses in addition to the two lessons a week I was fortunate enough my parents could provide me.

I stopped riding when I turned sixteen and started working to save for college. As an adult I started riding again while in graduate school at Yale. The Equestrian Center was near the playing fields where my then boyfriend, now husband, played football or softball depending on the season. We would go over together when he had a game scheduled and I would ride the edges of the field, always on the lookout for errant balls heading my way.

Eric, my husband, is certainly an animal lover, but nevertheless had absolutely no desire to be on the back of a horse. He would come into the barn to get me and give an absent pat to whatever nose presented itself over the top of a stall door, but that was as close as he got. The only exception I can recall is when a polo pony’s door wasn’t firmly closed and it barreled out. Eric had just come in from playing football and reflexively tackled the pony, who stopped cold and backed right into his stall with Eric’s shoulder against his chest. Handy timing on that one for everyone except the pony.

Still, he wasn’t proof against my plea for a romantic ride on our honeymoon. He agreed, with the firm stipulation that this would be the first and last ride of his life. We honeymooned on Cape Cod and the barn we stopped at found the largest horse they could for Eric, who is six foot two. The found a lovely, gentle giant named King, and Eric dubiously climbed on board. I nearly bit the tongue in two not laughing, but I figured since he was going the extra mile for me to have my romantic fantasy the least I could do was be cooperative.

After a quick lesson on turning left and right, kick to go and pull back to stop (you’d think after years with me he’d know all this but selective hearing at it’s finest had obviously been in play). We had a nice slow walk through the woods with a guide and I loved every minute of it until I turned and saw Eric was no longer behind me. My heart dropped to my stomach and I called out to him. With a huge sigh of relief I heard him call back “We’re fine. We’re on autopilot back here.”

Come to find out King had dropped his head for a few quick bites of grass and Eric was just sitting in the saddle while King had his fill. When we suggested he pull King’s head up, Eric told us “He’s hungry. We’ll be along after he’s had his snack.”

I may not have married a rider, but I sure married a horse lover. When I rode competitively he ran my ribbons around the top of the walls of our den. He would tell people it was the most expensive art in the house (well, actually it was), but he was very proud of ‘his horses’ wins’. We’ve been together over twenty years and he still has a picture of both my horses in his office.

Here’s to all the wonderful supportive horse people’s families!

Cheers,

Mary

www.marypaine.com

Sunday Afternoon

As most of you know, I lost my sister last Wednesday. As a result, I'm not exactly prepared to post today, my regular post day. I wanted to stop in and say hi to everyone. We really appreciate our regular readers and welcome our new readers.

I wanted to post about a holistic clinic I took my horse to last week, but I think I'll postpone that for my next post. In the meantime, if you have had any experience with holistic healing (this particular clinic was emotional healing for horses), I would love to hear your impressions. I have mixed feelings about it. I guess you could say that the jury is still out.

On a postitive note, my first two published books are now availalble in print on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

You can access the buy links on my website at http://www.jamidavenport.com/

Or you can find them on Amazon at:

The Dance
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1606010883/sirenpub-20

Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1606011154/sirenpub-20

Thanks for stopping by and check in later for my post regarding my experience with holistic emotional healing for horses.

Reflections and a Tribute

I lost my older sister yesterday. She was 58 years old. She'd battled brain cancer for years. For a while, she'd been winning. Yesterday, she didn't.

Yesterday, I received a call from the hospital near the nursing home she'd been living in for the past 2 years. She'd been in the hospital since Sunday night. I had no idea she was in such bad condition, or I would have made the 4-hour drive sooner. I'd been told she had a urinary infection. What she really had were massive blood clots in her heart and lungs. No one at the hospital told me that until it was too late.

My husband and I rushed up there right after the doctor called. He didn't hold out much hope that we'd make it. We didn't. We were 1/3 of the way there when the doctor called us to let us know that she'd suffered a fatal heart attack.

My sister was 9 years older than me, never married, never had children. For the majority of her life, she'd raised Rottweilers and was the founder of Ebonstern Kennels. She loved those dogs more than anything else in her life and dedicated her entire life to them. Ebonstern had a reputation of raising high quality dogs. My sister was very picky about who bought one of her dogs. I used to say that it was easier to adopt a child than to pass her stringent "vetting" of prospective parents for her beloved puppies. She was a responsible dog breeder and had an extensive contract she required that new owners sign. Only show quality dogs could be bred if they were AKC champions. Her pet quality dogs were to be fixed.

One of her "babies" still lives with us. He is partially blind and deaf but seems happy and healthy for a 16-year-old Rottweiler.

So what does this have to do with horses? Nothing on the surface, but my sister instilled in me a love of horses and animals from the day I was born. That is her legacy. That, and her beloved Ebonstern rottweilers.

May she finally rest in peace and live happily in heaven with her canine children once again.

Mr. Python and Me

Hi Everyone,

Being a horse person, I’ve always considered myself to be very comfortable around animals. Today, I was shown what real dedication is. I attending a Zoo class for 5-7 year olds with my daughter. The theme was snakes. Yup, I petted an interesting variety of snakes, including (oh, my!) a boa constrictor.

While stifling my urge to flee, I was struck by the incredible dedication of the staff running the class. The way they spoke of and cared for the snakes showed an amazing love for all living things.

The instructors mentioned that Ball Pythons make wonderful household pets. Hmmm. Well, my kids are dying to have a pet and since my husband is allergic to anything with fur or feathers, I gathered my courage and approached the teacher after class to ask about purchasing a python (Gulp!).

I was enthusiastically informed that I should make sure there are no mites on a snake before I buy it and no flakes on the skin. They also encouraged looking in the mouth but they weren't sure a snake would let me. Perhaps here these lovely people were being diplomatic as I'm sure the truth was obvious by all the color draining from my face, the truth being I could never pluck up the courage to look in said mouth. I’ll spare you all the, er, feeding routine, but I was told as far as sleeping arrangements if I buy a twenty gallon tank the snake will be quite comfortable.

Now, I’m right on board with horse mom duties—willing to tote around water bottles, fly spray, jackets between classes and other pack mule type tasks while cheering success and consoling less happy results.

If we had a dog or cat I would be pretty realistic about which family member would be responsible for care and feeding (that would be me). But, folks, much as I do love animals and wish all of them nothing but the best, I draw the line at feeding a family python. When the kids are old enough to take all responsibility for said snake, I may take a deep breath and say alright. Then all I’ll have to worry about is having guests over and Mr. Python slithering down the steps to join the party. As a hostess, I wouldn’t consider my party a success if the guests were stampeding to the door, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t really blame them.

Maybe my horse-crazy kids will be happy enough with the animals at our local barn and Mr. Python and I will be able to wish each other well and go our separate ways. Here’s hoping!

Cheers,

Mary

www.marypaine.com

A Tribute and New Beginnings

There comes a day in a day in the life of a parent of a child who rides that is mixed with both dread and excitement. This day came for me last week.

I'll back track for a minute here, so you can get the full story.

My little girl Kaitlin started riding about two years ago. She'd been asking us for a horse and to ride since she was about three or four. My parents had horses and I grew up with them, so it was natural that Kaitlin would want to ride. We felt when she was five that would be a good time to start.

She started lessons for a few months at one barn, but it wasn't the right place for us. Lots of turn over, only twenty minutes by the time she was on the horse to ride and a lot of money. So, one day while visiting my parents who live a half an hour away, I took Kaitlin down to a ranch where I had done some back yard horse shows as a kid. I asked around about lessons and we were directed to Connie who teaches the little ones. We met Connie and started up lessons right away. Immediately my daughter's love for the animal grew because of Connie who is a warm, funny, kind woman with both horses and kids. Now, Connie isn't the hard core structure teacher. She allows kids to be kids and horses to be horses. My daughter would ride for an hour or more when taking a lesson with Connie. She is the kind of teacher who lets a child experience the love and passion for the horse to discover if this is for them or not. She also became my friend during the last couple of years. I've leaned on her shoulder, laughed with her, confided in her and theorized with her on various topics. I wrote an entire book while sitting at the picnic table out at the barn while Connie worked with Kaitlin (tight deadline) and Connie would snap (gently) at anyone trying to interrupt the creative flow by talking to me.

Obviously we got lucky finding this lady who loves kids and horses, but last week something happened. Kaitlin got a pony. Yep. We are now a two horse family. We have my Krissy, which everyone has nicknamed Princess at the barn and now we have Monty (or Mister Monty, as Kaitlin insist he be called). Mister Monty is a Gypsy Vanner Cob with excellent manners, jumps anything and everything, kind, smart and probably the cutest little guy I've ever seen. Kaitlin fell in love with him and the next thing I knew we were buying a pony. It was an exciting week. It was also a signal to me when Kaitlin said, "I want to get really good. I want to learn to jump and be a great rider," that we needed to move on from Connie. Not that Connie couldn't still work with Kaitlin and Mister Monty, but it was time to take that leap and recognize Kaitlin was ready for the next step. Her teacher had provided her with a foundation and a passion that will last a lifetime.

I dreaded talking to Connie because as mentioned she is now a friend of the family and we think a great deal of her, but I hate the idea of hurting anyone's feelings and since this was the first time I'd ever had to do this, I wasn't sure how it would go over. I should have known that Connie would be as she always is, sweet, understanding, encouraging and professional. She knew the time was right and explained to me that usually when a child she teaches gets a horse that it is time to move up. I can't tell you how relieved and happy I was and how grateful I am to have had Connie be the foundation for Kaitlin. I still remember my first instructor and all that he taught me.

Now Kaitlin and Mister Monty have a new teacher; Gillian. Gillian is also good natured, kind and caring. She has a ton of experience and is full of knowledge about the animals. I knew we had made the right choice when Kaitlin came home with Gillian from picking up Mister Monty. They had made up a song about the pony.

It's never easy to move to the next level but having people in your life encouraging you helps you find the self confidence to rise to the occasion. Our family is grateful we have had Connie to help our daughter do exactly this.

Cheers,
Michele

Never Trust a Matchmaking Witch

Hi Everyone,

Life is crazy but wonderful right now. I've just signed the contract with Siren Bookstrand Publishing for my novella Never Trust a Matchmaking Witch, which will be released January, 2009.

I’ve always believed the world of horses is magical. It’s been a lot of fun taking it one step further and creating some actual magic in my fictional horse world. In Never Trust a Matchmaking Witch the question is: What happens when a fun-loving group of witches start a new hobby — matchmaking for their mortal friends? Of course, the setting is a very beautiful equestrian facility where the owner/trainer has a plethora of talents, including witchcraft. It’s a given that her horses and even her barn cat have some magical abilities of their own.

Here’s a sneak peek:

Susan has some amazing fantasies about Dr. Brad Conway. Unfortunately, when she’s anywhere near the handsome surgeon, she’s a tongue-tied catastrophe. Along comes Brad’s friend Alicia, a horse trainer with a talent for magic and matchmaking. Trapped at Alicia’s home during an ice storm, Susan is thrilled to be on the receiving end of some fascinating, sensual advances from Brad. When she keeps encountering magical occurrences like a wolf-whistling cabinet, spoons stirring by themselves and a cat with an unerring ability to appear and disappear, not to mention change its own collar, she must decide if she believes in magic. But believing has a downside, because now she has a new problem to consider. Is Brad’s passion for her real or is it part of a spell?

I’ve had such a wonderful time creating the stories A Dangerous Dream and Never Trust a Matchmaking Witch. It seems my love of the horse world has taken flight in a new direction—onto the pages of my books! Hmmm…in my fictional world my characters can even consistently stay balanced in their half-seat (unlike me, for whom that remains an elusive dream). Not that all those hours jumping cavaletti without stirrups or reins wasn’t fun, but I suppose I can let my characters skip that part!

Happy Riding, everybody! Hope you’re all enjoying your summer!

Cheers,
Mary

Ride into magic and mystery with novelist Mary Paine
www.marypaine.com

After the Finish Line . . .

by Kit Ehrman

Today’s post will be short since I’m away from home, using a hotel Internet that’s extraordinarily slow.

In light of the recent topic here, regarding responsible horse ownership and the fate of horses that are no longer wanted, I’d like to draw your attention to After the Finish Line, a website dedicated to caring for racehorses once they’ve left the track. Please visit www.afterthefinishline.org/index.htm.

The tragic deaths of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro and this year’s second place finisher, filly Eight Belles, brought the plight of racehorses and, ultimately, the whole slaughter issue to the forefront. Thankfully, changes are being made.

At Suffolk Downs in Boston, sending racehorses to slaughter will no longer be tolerated. Track management will deny stalls to any trainer who sells a horse for slaughter. It’s great to see that the industry is taking action. Certainly, there’s much to be done, but it’s a start.

What’s needed even more, I believe, is for backyard horse owners to be educated, to stop mindless breeding of their stock, to make sure their horses are well-trained and socialized, and to take responsibility for their fates.