I started riding a a German riding academy in Wiesbaden, Germany when I was in kindergarten. I rode a big white Percheron mare bareback for the first lessons. I went on to dressage...as much as a first-grader could. Then we moved to Oberammergau, Germany, and my lessons stopped, but in the valley we lived in, the farmers would let their work mares loose to roam with their foals, and I would run to see them every time they thundered through.

I rode on and off when we lived in Missouri, New Mexico, and then it all stopped. I still loved horses.

I rode , a little, when I got to college. I got married and we lived and worked on a historical farm where we farmed with Percherons. Years later when we had our own home and land, I bought a pony for our son. "Star" was goofy. He didn't like the saddle, so I rode him bareback. Our son grew up and learned to fly airplanes, so I found Star another home down the road. That family had a little boy who needed a pony.

Meanwhile, my husband and I raised sheep. Then two years ago, at the Kentucky Horse Park, I saw a Gypsy horse. Again, I fell in love. I started looking for a horse. Since the Gypsy horses are so expensive, I looked at Haflingers.

I found a person who was breeding her Gypsy stallion to Haflinger mares. I bought one of the babies and now have this colt who is wonderful.

A horseman? A rider? I don't know. I just love horses.