I don’t ride trotting horses. I ride gaiting horses. There is no bounce. No trot to post to. Just a smooth, glide ride that I have enjoyed for the past many years. But I may have crossed over to the dark side. I have purchased a two year old Warlander. A Warlander is a new, made up breed created by crossing a Friesian and an Andalusian. (Two fabulous breeds in their own right.) Her name is Duende. She trots. I will learn to ride the trot.

My first attempt at posting this year was at the expense of my friend’s 3 yo quarter horse gelding. The horse’s owner, my friend KS, keeps insisting that I’ll pick up posting “in less than 2 seconds”. As if it were like learning to breathe! HA! You should have seen that attempt. It lasted less than 4 strides because a) I couldn’t keep the horse moving forward and b) I was falling forward while my legs were falling backwards (this is clearly not very ‘classical’). I like to think I’m not afraid to try new things. I was kind of wrong that day. But mostly, I was just highly annoyed. It wasn’t fun. It was awful. And so the journey begins. [tinkley Asian-like music plays in the background]