Horses and I

I LOVE horses.

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love horses. Ever since I was a little girl, I was drawn to these beautiful creatures. From pony rides at Griffith Park in Los Angeles to the horses on our family’s ranch in El Salvador or just driving by pastures on road trips across the country, seeing them graze by the road, I wanted to be closer to them. I begged my dad for a pony. Finally, he told me that he would get me one if I still wanted one at 8 years old. I did. Thanks, Dad!

My first pony’s name was Dusty. He was the sweetest, most stubborn little black Shetland pony. When I got a little older, I got a bigger pony, a POA (Pony of the America’s) named Marty. He was such a great guy. When we moved across the country from Northern California to Miami, Florida, I finally graduated to a horse when I was twelve. First, an Appaloosa named Starburst, then “Spic” a Quarter Horse (whom I did not name!). By the time I graduated from High School, I had grown much more interested in other things. We’d moved back to California, and I got distracted by boyfriends, school, and then preparing to go away to college. My dad sold my last horse, and that was that. I graduated from college, got married, had a couple of kids. But at some point I started to feel like I’d lost part of myself, I came to a wild realization that what was missing in my life was a horse.

When I turned 30, I bought myself a horse. Her name was Glow. It had been a decade since I had ridden. Glow ended up not working out, but she got me back in the saddle and gave me my confidence back. I started shopping for a “forever horse,” one that I could show. That’s when Cracker came into my life. I found him in Texas. He was a yearling, and we were happy together for 10 years. He was the best horse that I ever had.

One of the hardest things about moving from California to NY was selling that horse (sorry, mom)! I never, ever thought that I would have another. It was sad, but I came to terms with it, and I was so busy adjusting to our new city life. I just never thought it would be possible again.

Another 10 years went by, and by then, we had bought a house outside the city in Amagansett. One day a couple of summers ago, my husband surprised me with a gift. He had bought me a horse. OMG. Best hubby ever, best gift ever!!! By this time, I was over 50. This is when Groovy came into my life. I can’t explain how powerful and meaningful this gift was at this moment in my life. It felt like I was returning to my childhood, to nature, and it really awakened something in me that I hadn’t felt in a very long time. Just reconnecting to that part of myself was liberating. It made me feel like that little girl again who just loved the simple thing of loving and caring for a horse. I could seriously cry just thinking about it.

Once a horse girl, always a horse girl. And finally, a forever horse.