My Next Horse? Arranging a Trade for Sunny.

Cheri came and inspected our hay last week. She wanted to make sure it was of the quality she needed for her horses, before we proceeded any further in negotiating a trade for her horse Sunny and my hay. I'm happy to announce that the hay passed her inspection and we move on to the next step; I ride Sunny. It's very exciting and exhausting preparing to buy a new horse, at least for me it is. I've been selling hay all winter to raise money for my new horses. It's probably why I ended up with pneumonia. John agreed to let me use the money I made from the hay sales for my new horses. I've had only three horses in my life, since I was 10 years old. Each one had a very special meaning to me.

My first horse "Big John"

was an older, sickly horse my parent bought from a boy going door to door in our neighborhood in San Luis Obispo, California, looking for a new home for his old horse. My parents agreed to pay the $10 for the big old pitiful thing after my brother and I begged them and made promises to take care of him. Big John was so sweet, gentle and patient with my brother and I as we learned to ride him. After a while, Big John got so lame that my parents made the decision to send him to the glue factory. This was not a popular decision with my brother and I, especially me. I didn't fully comprehend what it meant to send an animal to off like that, but I learned they never returned from such a place. My step-dad bragged for years that he made money on that horse.

Horse #2.

Two years later, for my 12th birthday

My dad (Doug Conklin) and step-mother Mary surprised with a beautiful retired race horse, as they drove up to our house in Atascadero California on Santa Lucia pulling a horse trailer. This wonderful gift came after two years of saving money, studying the classified ads and telling everyone I was working towards my next horse. My parents taught me a valuable lessons with this process, set goals, work on them and you will attain them. They taught me that other people and the blessings of God would work in your favor to attain these goals. I used the money I saved to buy tack and care for my new horse, since the horse was a gift. When my birthday present arrived, I was thrilled beyond my imagination.

I learned quickly that with a retired racehorse, you should never run through an open field with your girlfriend's horse alongside of you.

After my new horse sprung into his earlier training, and his imaginary gate at the race track opened, he bolted and ran full out. I woke up on the ground and wondered where my horse was. He was at home, the finish line. With the help of my hippie step-brother Michael, we settled on a name for my wonderful big gelding: Eo, short for Eohippus,the first known horse. Michael lead me to this name after giving me details of the prehistoric horse. It was groovy to Michael, so it became groovy to me. I was forced to sell Eo, one of the biggest disappointments of my life, when my parents moved and said I couldn't take him.

Horse #3. A gift from John.

John gave me a choice of a few horses, which I evaluated and rode. One of the horses, a sorrel, was very pretty, but I had to go with the black mare because I had seen her in a dream, years before. I called her Dream Angel. She is now retiring, in her late 20's, having been a very fun horse for me, and given me 12 years of enjoyment. Angel will still be going on some rides, but not as many.

I get extremely attached to my horses and want my next decision to be a good one, like my others were. I will buy two horses, because I normally ride with a visiting friend and don't like to ride alone.

My son Johnny understands this, he said, "That's why I have two mountain bikes."