Tuesday 4 May 2010
I haven't put a new post on for a while.

I have been doing a lot of soul searching, my life is going through such a lot of changes- getting married- finding the happily ever after cottage- my old dog (Loulou) dying - selling our little foal Willow (she was much bigger than the photo you understand when she was sold...) and so many other minor things too. I always find that periods of change like these lead onto more and more change.

It was this soul serching that made me look long and hard at the horses- I love them so much- especially Romeo whom I have owned since he was weaned from his dam and Riley has wormed his way into my heart with that cheeky freckled face and the ponies, what's not to love about the ponies?? (less than 4 weeks until Poppy's foal is due now)

I, however, am no spring chicken and my love of horses over the years has taken its toll on my body with the odd break here and fracture there, stitch this bit back together, a week in hospital every now and again on drips and the wonders of old wounds aching at the slightest sign of rain or cold. So, when Riley decided to have an all out bucking bronco tantrum one evening when he objected to going through the gate (I stayed on in case you were wondering- by the power of sheer gritted determination I stuck in the saddle) I had an "I'm too old for this" moment.

"What riding? Horses?" MrP looked shocked. I say those words so often, especially when faced with a muddy winter ahead of me or 4 filthy stables to muck out, but I think he detected from the tone of my voice that it was different this time - I really meant it!! Not altogether you understand. I was just so fed up of everything being a struggle and a fight, 20 years ago I would have loved it but now all I want is a quiet life and to enjoy my horses.

While the mood was upon me I drafted the adverts- having resisted "Two totally spoilt bratish Arab geldings" as an opening line and I put them online expecting it to take weeks to sell them. (the girls are not for sale) Within 3 days they were both sold and I was going about the exciting business of looking for a new sensible horse for gentle hacking about country lanes without being in fear of my life and going to the odd show and maybe even sensible enough for MrP to have lessons on. We looked at loads- we rejected even more without going to see them. There was one advert I kept on going back to - she looked so stunning! Too good to be true!! I'm not a big fan of mares nor of cobs for that matter but this one was glorious!

Meet Darcy, my new girl. Sensible without being a plod. A real beauty in a sturdy girl way. She arrived on May Day. I am totally besotted with her!! (So is MrP!)

Yet another big change in my life, my two beautiful boys are gone to their new homes with younger fitter riders to adore them and have lots of fun with them, (it was the right decision for the boys too) and I have my black beauty- the sort of horse that little girls dream of. But for me this was about growing up and realising I can't do what I did when I was 20 and letting go of my boys for everyone's benefit...

So you see I have been a little busy with one thing and another- I got through selling my boys by adopting that plain vanilla beige numbness that I have found serves me well for getting through tough patches and now things seem to finally be slotting into place.



More soon- off to make some scones for later then get ready to go for a gentle ride on Darcy...

9 comments:

Karen Roderick said...

I don't know much about horses, but Darcy is just beautiful. Brave decision to move your boys on, but from what you've said it was the right one - change does that, puts things into persepctive, K x

dragonfly said...

Oh, she's beautiful. It must have been such a hard decision for you to make. I've always loved riding (never had my own horse, though) and I fell off about 4 years ago for the first time. Luckily, I didn't break anything but I too had that 'I was lucky, there' thought and sadly, haven't been back in the saddle since. I was in agony for weeks, having landed heavily on my side.

Glad to see you back, anyway!

BadPenny said...

wow he is magnificent. Difficult desision to make - I'm sure you did the right thing.

Tracey said...

He's a beauty! My dad who is in his late 60's has recently stopped hunting, & now just hacks about the lanes. I love cobs! I had one called Spank when I was younger (much younger!) xxx

MrsP said...

Oh Tracey I love the name Spank! Brilliant!! And I'm glad your dad is still riding in his 60s- wow! Thank you for your kind comments and it's good to be back. Just thought I would say though Darcy is a girl!!! After all the excitement of my new girl arriving and my first proper ride, life is about to return hopefully to some sort of normality... I can feel a bit of baking coming on Jx

driftwood said...

Darcy is a real beauty, hope you have lots of fun together x

Tracey said...

OOps! She's a beauty then! Your life looks marvelous, I'm so jealous! xxx

MrsP said...

It's okay Tracey- It is a bit of a boys name... think of her as Darcy Bustle rather than Mr Darcy! =O)

diney said...

Hello It's Diney here - thank you for popping over to mine! I've really enjoyed reading your last 2 posts - I don't usually have time to do more than quickly scan a longer post to be honest, but I read both word for word which is a great indication that you write really well and with feeling. I love the story of how you met husband number 3, and I can sense how much in love you are with him and with your life. I have a fairly idyllic life too - aren't we just so lucky? I think your photos are gorgeous - they put mine to shame. I accidentally put my last camera into the washing machine, and then the memory card went into the dishwasher for good measure (I must post about that sometime!!) so I use my trusty iphone at the moment. I really must get my act together and buy a new one! Your new girl is gorgeous. I just love horses so much - I spent all my summer holidays as a child on my aunt's farm in Norfolk where she had a riding school, so it was a huge part of my life, until I became interested in boys at about 15 and stopped riding!! Anyway, lovely to meet you and I will be popping over to see how you are getting on!

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