Today one year ago...

Today exactly one year ago I was heading from home near Adelaide down to where my lease horse was kept, over 90 km away near Normanville. I did this every weekend that I could manage it, it's a long drive, and often the weather was crap or I couldn't afford the extra fuel, or I had other responcibilities that kept getting in my way. It was difficult having him live so far away, meaning I would have to suffer up to a month without visiting, but at the time it was necessary. So this winter weekend I was going with a friend to have a lesson and spend the day with my boy, I was in my daggy jeans, riding boots, messy hair, no make-up as you do when hanging out in the rain and mud with animals. I had brushed my teeth so I wasn't a complete ferral. I rock up at my trainers house in the middle of a small rain squall and head right for the wood fire to warm up. We chatted, made a cuppa, the usual, but something was a bit off. I wanted to go out into the paddock to see my horse but my friend gave me a horse deals magazine and was asking my opinion on a few that she liked. The my trainer was asking me about what I'd like to do that day for a lesson, but making no move to head out. After about 15 minutes  my trainers parter, a vet nurse, came in and we decided it was time to head out. I got to the door heading for the patio and there was a big table, previously empty, covered in pink party foods, pink cruisers, pink paper and napkins and streamers, and a crowd of my friends- horses and non-horsey- standing about with big grins on the front of their heads. Happy Birthday!!! Feeling totally set-up I was lead to the table to grab a drink and some iced vo-vo's and musk sticks. But something still wasn't right. At some queue unknown to me everyone rose and the group started off around the corner of the house to a litle grassy patch just out of sight. Standing there with another friend was my lease horse all wrapped in pink birthday paper, pink bow and ribbons and a massive bejewelled  sign pinned to his makeshift wrapper rug that said Happy Birthday! I laughed, he looked ridiculous! What a bit of fun. It took about 3 minutes before my friend that I had driven down with (my horses owner whom I leased him from) realised that I hadn't got the point yet and had to clear it up for me- "In case you didn't get it, he's yours, Archie is your birthday present" To which I promptly burst into tears. Oh my God! Archie whom I had been leasing for about a year, the horse I learned to ride on, the one I learned all the practical things one needs to know about horse care, and my Parelli Partner from the very first day was now my very own First Horse. That was one year ago today. And today my friends and I gathered at a place much closer to my home, where I spend every weekend with my boy, had a stunning lunch together with the horses running around the paddock in the afternoon sun, playing with our Partners and having yet another wonderful birthday afternoon with My Archie.