I was lucky enough to grow up on a Charolais cattle ranch and farm in north central Missouri. Though my parents weren't into horses, other relatives and neighbors were, so I was riding from the time I was about 3 months old. I got my first horse from Santa when I was 7 years old -- an ornery sorrel Welsh pony. Since then I have had numerous horses. During my teen years I did rodeos and competitive trail riding. Like many Red Hat gals, when I went off to college, I wasn't able to have horses. After college I settled in the Kansas City area. There I got two horses: a big ornery black Tennessee Walker and a Perlino, Irish Thoroughbred, which I used for trails and fox hunting. The Walker proved to be more challenge than I wanted to deal with but I adored the Thoroughbred.

My Thoroughbred had to be put down due to cancer around his eye that spread to his brain. It broke my heart. By that time our son was three, we had just adopted our daughter from China and I was working crazy hours as a graphic designer. There simply was no time or extra money for horses and boarding.

In the late fall of 2007, my pelvis was broken and we had to find a house all on one level because I was unable to walk up and down stairs and was in a wheelchair for four months. We found a great house in Linn Valley, Kansas that was surrounded by horse farms. Our place was near LaCygne Lake and 33 miles of horse trails. There I made a new friend who wanted someone to ride trails with. After riding her horses, I found that I felt much better and I lost 13 pounds in a month as a bonus! I bought her big beautiful paint gelding, Dakota. Hubby bought her mare Sage and our daughter, now 10, bought Sage's little '08 filly Clementine.

When I discovered there was a Red Hat group for horsewomen, (or is that crazy horse women??) I knew I had to join up. Since there wasn't a group already established in Kansas or Missouri, I started up the Purple Posse, Red Hats & Purple Chaps-MoKan.