How to accept the award: The Liebster award is a way to recognize blogs that have less than 200 followers. Liebster is a German word that means: Beloved and valued. Here are the rules to accept the award:
1. Thank the person that nominated you and share a link back to their blog.
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions given to you.
4. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.
5. Nominate 11 bloggers with 200 or less followers and include links to their blog.
6. Notify each nominated blogger.
11 random facts about me:
1. Yes, I have red hair, but even more shocking: when I was born I had a whopping 4 inches of it covering my head!
2. Before I could even walk or talk I would scream if a cowboy rode past me with out giving me a ride on his horse (we lived on a 50,000 acre ranch in the Texas panhandle).
3. I really learned to ride at age 10 on an Arabian stallion in northern Idaho while doing endurance.
4. When I get the hiccups they last off and on for three days.
5. If a lucrative future career wasn't a worry I would ditch my Bio degree and get something in the realm of literature and creative writing.
6. Even though I ride race horses, problem horses, and green horses I still struggle with confidence. It is a daily decision to be brave, some days are easier than others.
7. I am a voracious reader...to the point that at times it can be a bad habit. Just one more chapter;)
8. My art teacher in high school sent a letter home to my parents saying that I should think about going to art school...again, I want a job that pays for my horse endeavors.
9. I like to sing in my car; at high volumes.
10. Even though it was about 8 years ago, one of my favorite horses in every way was a chestnut mare named Reveille. I haven't ridden her in ages, but I can still feel the rise and fall of her gait, hear her nicker, and see the depths of her eyes, she was one of those 'special ones.'
11. I'm getting ready to donate my hair to locks of love for the second time.
Questions from Nanakorobi Yaoki:
1. What is your favorite thing about your horse?
Mojito has the most distinctive whinny, kind of like sing-song laughter
2. When things don't go well during a ride what do you to handle it and move on?
I typically go back to the complete basics. Walk/halt, Trot/walk, maybe a cross rail, it depends on the horse as to what 'basic' is. The biggest thing is that after a success at something simple that I recognize it and throw the horse a party (hugs, pets, verbal praise), usually I find that 'issues' arise from some lack of confidence in the horse, so I try to build it up.
3. What do you do to treat or pamper yourself?
What a new saddle pad doesn't count? Taking a few minutes with a lovely cup of coffee and a good book is pretty great!
4. What's your favorite childhood memory:
Just one? Well there are lots of favorites, but here goes with one. I was about 11 years old and riding Pepper, an arabian stallion. I was with Brent (the horses owner, and a mentor) and Carrie (a friend just a bit older than me) and we went on a long training ride (about 13 miles). We rode on Moscow mountain and came to a new (to me) place called inspiration point and you could see for miles upon miles upon miles in every direction around the north Idaho palouse. I could have looked forever, it was a place look upon while writting a novel, while making artwork, while writing music, a place where your worries suddenly seem so very small and insignificant. It is 14 years later and my heart still swells with the memory.
5. What is your general barn routine?
At which barn? We will go with the race track. Arrive at 6 and feed grain. Start getting horses to the track by about 6:20 and finish by 8 or 9. Muck stalls while the horses are training. Feed hay. Water. Rake the shedrow and walker ring.
6. Ideal number of horses, and what would they do?
I have four of my own, I would like one less. They would all get ridden regularly and in my dream world two would event and one would do upper level dressage.
7. Favorite meal?
An incredible garlic crusted steak, medium rare.
8. What is your mindset like during a typical ride?
As Nick HolmsSmith once said, "you get on your horse and stop and think, who am I on?" This may sound crazy simple, but for the number of horses that I ride is it great advice. I like to think about what we have been doing and what we need to do while I warm up. Other times I am thinking out the next story I want to write, and sometimes I tell the horse about my day, and still other times I sing while going 'round and 'round.
9. Favorite tack brand, why?
Too many to choose from, but I am still a Stubben lover. They may be a bit old school, but their quality is unsurpassed. If you take the time to break in their leather well it turns to butter and never breaks down.
10. Favorite breeches, why?
My Tailored Sportsman trophy hunters look great and are freakin' work horses. I can ride all day, buck a ton of hay, give baths, go to dinner, and after almost 4 years they still have their stretch and no stains!
11. Tell me about your first riding experience?
Well I already mentioned the very first times, but I don't actually remember them. The first one I really remember is moving some friends mules from the middle of town out to a summer pasture with my dad. Yes we rode them, I had to be about 4 at the time. I was a little nervous, but it was awesome. I recently found this picture documenting it, yes, those are green and pink high top converse on my feet:)
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