As with many of the ladies in this group, I've been crazy about horses for as long as I can remember.  We lived in the city, but at one point, I managed to talk my parents into a pony that we kept at my great-grandparents' house. During a thunderstorm, the pony got loose and was killed by a car.  I was devastated, but the man driving the car tried to sue my parents, so I could never talk them into a replacement. 

There was a boy in my neighborhood who used to ride his horse down my street.  One day he stopped to chat and asked if I wanted to ride in a parade with him and his parents.  I couldn't believe my good fortune, and all I had to do was convince my parents to let me go.  I was 14 at the time, and the boy was RHPC's trainer extraordinaire Kevin Wallin.  Needless to say, my passion for horses never subsided and any opportunity I had to ride, I jumped on. 

My story differs from many of the ladies because I was finally able to buy my own horse after I was married.  Eleven years later, I left my husband, but I kept my horse.  During the divorce, I had to move back to town, but I had some very good friends with horses 50 miles from me, and they agreed to keep my horse until I could get rid of all my excess baggage.  It took me a few years, but I was finally able to get a place in the country for my horses (my mare had a foal while living at my friends').  At that point, I didn't know anyone locally with horses, but I needed to find a contact for hay, vet services, farrier services, etc.  I had an old copy of a Trail Mix newsletter that I had picked up at the Hoosier Horse Fair, and the Trail Guide Editor lived in the same city as I, so I e-mailed her to ask all the questions I needed answered.  I received an e-mail back and she was kind enough to provide me with information and invited me to stop by the barn where she and her son had their horses.  I did stop by that barn a few weeks later to find that the man working in the round pen was the same boy I had met 25 years earlier, when I rode behind him in my first parade.  The woman I had e-mailed was Cheryl Royer.  Cheryl and Kevin have been a great help to me since that day.  They introduced me to Parelli Natural Horsemanship and to the Red Hats and Purple Chaps.  We have become very good friends, and I thank both of them for continuing to fuel my passion for horses.