I have not been riding all of my life. I grew up in a suburb of Rochester, NY. There were no horses nearby. My family was large, with my father working and my mom staying home with us. There was no money in the family budget for extras like horseback riding. I rode only a few times as a child: three times with my girl scout troop on trail rides, and for two weeks at a horseback riding camp with my sister.
After marriage and two kids, I ended up at a tack shop at Christmastime. They had an ad next to the cash register for "Adult Riding Lessons." In January I started my riding career as the oldest member of a college-student riding class.
Almost exactly two years later, I bought my first horse Skittles. He is a quarter horse. He trained me, my son and ten little girls to ride so far. As he neared retirement, I bought a baby and her mom. Then, when the mom died, I got my thoroghbred, Red. Red is my current lesson horse. Like Skittles, he does it all. He raced on the track, did some eventing, and now has come to teach me dressage.
