Well, folks, I am happy to report that Slider is still alive and well. I write this because right during Louisville week, Iowa became incredibly humid and I came to the barn to lunge Slider. We didn’t work hard, but he broke a sweat, which he does not ever do when lunging.
It is a magical week this week…the beginning of the World’s Championship Horse Show in Louisville! I personally have never ridden on the green shavings, and although it is a lifelong dream just to ride there, it seems pretty unlikely right now at this stage in my life.
I am by no means a horse trainer. I have never started a colt, or taught a horse to rack, or even won a prestigious ribbon at an upper level horse show such as Louisville or the Royal. What I do have, however, is a vast collective of knowledge from a variety of trainers whom I have worked for over the years.
Welcome to our new blogger, Erica Mundt! Erica graduated from William Woods University with a degree in equestrian science, and is a riding instructor in her home state of Iowa. She will be blogging about her journey with her new rescue Saddlebred, Fast Friends, or "Slider."
I read the Cash Lovell Stables newsletter the other day. It was very long, packed full of information on the happenings in the barn, but the article that really caught my eye was the very first. It was a personal letter from Parker Lovell, announcing the loss of her childhood riding instructor — the woman who had taught her how to love horses all those years ago. It touched me very deeply because, as she talked about her childhood experiences, I remembered mine.