LaCresha's Lens Focuses On...page 158...Horses

Growing up I was a horse crazy kid!  I even gave my bicycle a name and pretended it was a horse.  I loved anything that could possibly have to do with them.  I remember trying to stay up late to watch the equestrian sports during the Olympics.  They are always aired late, late at night and I never did get to see them.
Eventually I was blessed with a horse of my very own at age 13.  Her name was Foxy Lady, a liver chestnut Missouri Fox Trotter mare.  She was the biggest and most awesome horse a kid could ever have and the fact that she was my first horse was beyond incredible.  She would work the cattle, go on endless trail rides, run gymkhana events, participated in a Rodeo Queen completion.  She helped me sneak off the farm when I was grounded, we ran up hills and jumped over logs.  There was even a couple of occasions when I had fallen asleep on her after a long day of trail riding and she safely brought me home.
I began to take riding lessons and eventually became that woman's apprentice.  I still recall the day I was sitting in an English saddle on one of her mare's when she said to me, it was time for me to find a new trainer as she had taught me everything she knew.  It was the most bittersweet moment which brought me great sadness and yet great joy.  I have an Equine Science minor from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.  From there I was a freelance horse trainer for many years.  I have been a Rodeo Queen twice, shown in Dressage shows, small horse shows, ran in rodeos, and been to so many large horse fairs, events and clinics I could not name them all.  While attending UW-RF I implemented the IHSA - Intercollegiate Horse Show Association.  This really helped to turn the equestrian department around at this University.  It gained great recognition when we sent riders to the Finals our first year of participating.  It was so well recognized that the Dean of the Agriculture Dept sent me a letter of gratitude and appreciation.
Where I am not retired from training horses, I am tossed back into the world as a writer for a regional equestrian magazine.  There are days I wonder if I will ride again or where that will fit in my life.
I have great appreciation for horses and a good rider.  There is nothing like that connection between horse and rider.  I remember how wonderful it was when I had that feeling between me and the horse I was riding.