The Beauty of Simplicity

I was on the phone with my life long best friend this afternoon when she mentioned that a horse which we mutually know was having health problems and not doing well. I inquired about the horse's age since I couldn't quite remember and my best friend told me that the horse was nearing 27 years old. That got us on the topic of all the horses we used to know at the barn where we grew up; the lesson horses, the first horses we leased, the horses that our friends owned. The sad part? There aren't very many of them left. Out of the original barn of horses that we knew, almost all of them have passed away.

And so, with that in the back of my mind. I started going through my laptop today, looking back on a whole bunch of photos and videos capturing my many years with horses. It bought back so many memories of days, people and horses which are now long gone. There are a few photos which I would like to share with all of you. They embrace the times when life seemed so much simpler and less chaotic. I hope you enjoy them and can look back on your own memories to find the beauty of simplicity.

This may in fact be one of my favorite pictures of all time. While it's not from very long ago, just a few years, it was taken on a beautiful spring day with one of my really good friends (pictured) and Emmy. She leased Emmy for all of her 4 years of college and made is possible for me to bring Emmy to school with me. 

A few summers back with Johnny. I used to ride and train him in the pasture during the summer because we didn't have any type of arena. (Note the tree branch being used as a ground line.) He opened me up to the world of Standardbreds and taught me to think outside the box when it came to training horses. He has the greatest personality of any horse I've ever known. I learned so much from him and not a day goes by that I don't miss him.

Emmy after coming back from her suspensory injury in the hind leg. What an amazing feeling it was just to canter her through a field again.

Freshman year of college. I took my new friends to my barn at home for the first time. I was so afraid that they would judge me because they all came from show barns while I rode in the back yard. We took a few horses out for a trail ride and had the most beautiful day. These girls had never experienced horses like this. To this day they tell me it was one of their most favorite college memories.

Enjoy your simplicity.

Peace.Love.Ponies.