I hope Vera will forgive me for lifting her picture from her blog but I am so impressed with H T and Blue on Black. I am thrilled I have a colt by Blue on Black in my herd. He is a yearling now and beautiful with a great conformation.

Blue on Black has recently been to Texas where he and H T competed in the ACTHA greatest trail horse competition. This September we will have a chance to see and voter for our favorite of the 100 competitors and their horses that competed for the title of America's greatest trail horse. I am so pleased that three of those horses and riders are people I know from showing in the UMH shows. Besides H T, there is Judy Brummer riding Legendary Lady and Mike Butler riding MX Wrangler. All three are Mountain Horses.

Why are the Rocky Mountain horses becoming so popular, you may ask? Think of the baby boomers that are starting to retire and many who are either thinking of an easier horse to ride or just now starting or going back to riding.

When I started thinking about buying a horse, I started doing research on the Rocky Mountain breed of horses. The first time I ever knew about that particular breed was reading a horse magazine. There was a nice article about Rocky Mountain horses and all the wonderful attributes they have. The article mentioned in detail about their smooth ride. They do not get to be overly large. 16hh is usually the tallest a Mountain Horse gets. Their wonderful disposition is another of their great attributes. They are intelligent and willing to please their riders. They are eager to learn.

I am what you may call vertically challenged (short). I do not want a horse that I have to hire a cherry picker to get on it's back. I do not want to bounce up and down, aka post. I do not have the energy for such things. I have old bones and old muscles and don't think I could ever get the hang of that posting thing.

So pretty soon I was looking for a stable that trained and sold Rocky Mountain horses. I googled the term and started looking. The first thing I knew I was on the Van Bert web site looking at their beautiful horses. Soon I was on the way to Stanton Kentucky to check out those horses. As it happened, the Stanton horse show was being held the very day I was at the farm. There I saw the most beautiful horse I have ever seen in my whole like. Her name is VBF Blue Ridge Mt Girl. I was hooked and it didn't take me many days to make up my mind that I wanted to own that horse.

I was taking riding lessons at a stable near home and my instructor was trying to teach me how to post. Ever once in awhile I would get in time with the horse and would actually post for a few steps but invariably I would get into the horse's mouth and he would slow down or stop. I never did get the hang of that posting but it was not for lack of Lisa trying.

One day I went to my riding lesson and told Lisa I had bought a horse. She had been looking for me a nice Quarter Horse so she was disappointed that I went out on my own and bought a horse. When I told her my new horse was two years old, I thought she would have a heart attack. She told me I was crazy and I actually thought she might contact my family to have me committed. I suppose I did pick up some helpful hints through my riding lessons with Lisa but I'm not sure. She was committed to teaching me to post and I was committed to riding a gaited horse.

So we parted ways after it became clear it was not going to work out. She and I didn't have the same goals in mind for my riding experience.

Mt Girl won trophies two years in a row as the High Point Country Trail Pleasure horse for the year in the UMH show circuit. I still love that horse as much as any horse I own. I have now had two foals from her and they are both really nice. The first was a colt by Venture's Black Fury and this year's filly was by my stallion SC Code of Honor. She is a black filly with very little white on her anywhere.

Mt Girl and I have had some pretty cool adventures together. She spooked when Chris (her trainer) nearly fell over the fence in front of her and she went one way and I went the other. It was a young horse thing. She spooked in the practice arena in Tennessee during my practice on her and she went one way and I went the other. I landed in some really soft rock. It was all wet and mushy and Jamie helped me wash a lot of it off at the wash bay they have for the horses.

I quit riding Mt Girl for a couple of years and last year I was determined I wanted to ride her again. So I did. We didn't go out of the arena but I rode her. She was just as sweet as ever and didn't do anything foolish. She had grown up and raised a colt and had matured. She is a wonderful horse and beautiful too. I always say the most beautiful horse in the world. Michael Brummer disagrees with me.

My new horse is a 19 year old gray mare called Blue Jean. She was Al Pruitt's favorite riding horse. I came to appreciate her when I rode the mountains on her back at the end of May. Now many of you may remember that is about the time I broke my collar bone. Well, I was riding Blue Jean when that happened.

I felt no concern that she would do something foolish and get me hurt. I did have a anxious moment on the trail when we encountered a switchback. I did dismount and walk down. But Blue Jean did nothing at all foolish. I do not count it her fault that later in the ride she went down and I fell off. She is a very sweet mare that took such good care of me. She tiptoed down the steep hills and picked her way up the hills. She was gaiting like a show horse and was kind and gentle all the four hours we rode.

Blue Jean has been giving lessons to young riders lately and she was not accustomed to carrying people that weight over a hundred pounds. I am not saying how much over. She was also not accustomed to being out on that long of a ride. So it was not her fault and it wasn't my fault that I lost my balance and fell. I can hardly wait to get back on Blue Jean. She has completely restored my confidence. I have a saddle that has a deep seat and I feel good about riding her.

God certainly does answer prayers. I have been praying for, God has given me. I have been praying I would have the courage to ride and not be afraid. I sort of got cornered into riding in the mountains. Not really but in a way I did too if that makes any sense.

Sometimes God has to corner me into doing what I should be doing anyway. The times I do not listen to his voice, I regret it but I do know he is with me through whatever trials that I may encounter. I know he will bring me to the other side of trouble, even that of my own making, a better and wiser person.

I know that God is with me throughout whatever comes in my life. He promised that in his word. He told us to go and make disciples of all nations and that he is with us always. I believe that is not only a promise that he gives when we are out in strange lands preaching the gospel, but where ever we are living by his promises to us as believers.

May God bless and keep you in his loving care and may you learn as I have that he is with you in all the things in your life. I asked Bill one time if he thought God cared about the little things in our life. He told me that of course he is. Our lives are mostly made up of little things.

May all the little things in your life bring blessings to you and may you be blessed beyond all measure.

Regards

Mary