A snowy ride

I spent the day in the kitchen with a good friend cooking all day.  Once a month I get together with a friend to cook 15 or so meals to have over the course of the month.  It is going on two years that I have relied on this for our family dinners.  It is a life saver of a busy family.  Anyways at the beginning I am always energetic and ready to tackle the task at hand.  Halfway through the day you start to feel a bit worn down.  By the time you finish the last meal you turn into a grumpy monster.  Then we were to entertain that evening for friends and all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and not return to the light of day for a good 12 hours.

I desparately wanted to capture the magic of the moment on camera but disappointingly cell phone cameras and a horse that really could have cared less to stand still just didn't capture the moment.  It is hard to see but really the snow is coming down.

Steady flipping his head in protest of standing still.  Oh I could eat this horse up he is so stinking cute.

I was tired and it was coooold outside but I knew a ride would be the best thing to get me out of my funk.  So that is what I did.  I was cold but as soon as we started moving I started to warm up.  We were working on our dressage test for the show this weekend.  About ten minutes into it little tiny balls of ice started to fall from the sky.  Steady did not appreciate them falling into his ears.  he kept shaking his head.  It was very cute.  Then it turned into big fluffy flakes of snow.  The white contrasts on Steady's dark red/brown mane and neck is such a beautiful sight.  It really came down, making the sky a white sea around us.  It was glorious!  The first snow of the year is magical to begin with and to be blessed enough to experience it this year on horseback is an amazing feeling.

It was hard to believe when I said to my family and friends how amazing it was.  They thought I was joking.  All they could think was how cold it was out there.  I didn't even notice the cold as we were going over a jump and the snow was flying in my face.  They just didn't get it.   I was one of those kids who would ride in the dead of winter.  Growing up in Michigan it made for some fun in the snow.  The the stable I rode everyday in the indoor arena but at home on my unpredicatble little pain in the butt Arab we would take weekly rides through the winter wonderland.  Sometimes bareback galloping through feet of snow and making our own path in life.  I remember those days as the best in my childhood and now as a resposible, grown up, wife, mother I am beyond blessed to still be experiencing the world on horseback.