My Future With Horses

Even though I may never learn to ride a horse and may own one only in my dreams, I do see myself with a future that includes horses.

So if I never learn to ride a horse and don't own one except in my dreams, how can horses be part of my future?

First, there is the wonderful world of horse shows. Other than the Minnesota Horse Expo in late April/early May and the Minnesota Equifest in mid-October, all the horse shows at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds are free to spectators. There are some breed specific shows (American Quarter Horses and Arabian Horses are the most frequent), but most are open to any breed. The only event I haven't seen at any of the horse shows I've attended is dressage. During the stallion demonstrations at the 2012 Minnesota Horse Expo, some of the stallions did perform some dressage moves. (The purpose of the stallion demonstrations is to show what traits the stallions are likely to pass on and to encourage mare owners to sign up for breedings.)

Some shows include both Western and English events. Some are for specific events, such as reining or mounted shooting. (See my June 1, 2013 entry for more about my impressions on being a spectator at a mounted shooting competition.) At a reining event I attended in 2011, it featured some of the best reiners in the world. Three of the four members of the USA Gold Medal-Winning reining team from the 2010 World Equestrian Games competed in the event I attended. The individual Gold Medalist and the man who tied for the individual Silver Medal were competing. The mounted shooting competition included several world champions.

Second, there is the world of horse art, both 2D and 3D. In the world of 2D art, besides learning to draw horses, I have bought horse art prints in the past. I also have a number of posters from Horse Illustrated magazine on my bedroom walls. When it comes to 3D art, most of the horses I have are Breyer model horses. I do have a few horses by other manufacturers. My collection includes an origami horse and a bobbing head horse. My first attempt at horse sculpting turned out badly. It looks vaguely horse-like, but it has no muscle tone. I do plan to try again, though. I have a couple more model horse sculpting kits to practice on. I had stocked up on Super Sculpey clay and wire, so I have plenty of materials for practicing!

Third, there is the world of writing about horses. (See my June 4, 2013 entry for details about that.) Besides my children's books, Horse Illustrated magazine is sponsoring a short story contest for horse-inspired fiction. If I can create a good story before the June 30, 2013 deadline, I'll enter.

Even if I never learn to ride horses, I can still have a future that includes horses.