My parents told me I could not have a horse until I was 10 years old. At the age of ten, I got a blue roan Tennessee walking horse mare that was 16 hands tall and loved to run to the barn. April and I had some good rides and some good runs. My family had horses until I got into college. Then we all took about a 30 year break until my father began taking our eight-year-old son to horse shows in Kentucky and Tennessee. Soon, I was riding in the shows too along with my father and my son. When my father died, I began riding one of the retired show horses at home. I rode her in two Hoosier Horse Fair Trail rides and still have her. She is 21 years old and not as sound as she once was but can take the grandkids around the field. I took her to Wyoming to ride in the mountains one summer. This and the Red Hats trip to Ireland were two of the biggest highlights of my life. I am working with a young horse now and hope that someday she will be able to participate in parades and on the drill team.