PINKBUNNIESLIPPERS

I remember being 10 years old and I had started riding lessons a few years before that. I was a horse crazy young lady. I drempt, slept and lived horses. It consumed my life 24/7. Friday was lesson night. The thrill of the end of the week was never lost on me. In kudos to my mother she shlept home from the work week and then drove me out to the stables to witness her sweet pea bumping and flopping around for at least an hour in those early days. I had a wonderful instructor that would do wonderful extra lessons after we were done. He'd also let us go around the ring and pick up the horse shoes that had been kicked off that week. The fact we were preforming a public service never hit a brain cell in my head. We were honored.
My first horse show I was bold enough to enter a mere three weeks after I started riding. I fell off not once, not twice but three times. it didn't occur to me to not get back on. As my skills improved I did start earning a few ribbons here and there. There is a great photo of me astride and turning around to look at my back to check my number as the were calling the winners. While I was in my glory around horses my skills at the time lead me to belive my number was not called.
If you have never been around "horse people" it is a culture until it's self. They are spilt into english and western. I went with the english riders. They is a split there from the horse owners and horse renters. I hovered near the renters and ever so greatly wanted tp have my own horse. They would have none of me. I was not even allowed to shine their saddles (much less speak to them.) It was crushing. My little brain couldn't wrap around the concept of THEREISNTENOUGHMONEYFORAHORSE argument my mother would hit me with. I'd go to bed praying for one and wake up imaging it would be left in the back yard magically over night.
I never did make it into the clique of the ever so preppy girls that gushed over their own ponies. One by one my little band of misfit renters joined the ranks of horse owners. I was left behind.