I first rode a horse when I was in early elementary school. It was a pony owned by a family in our church. I was hooked and asked, "Dad, if the Bishop moves us to live on a farm, can I have a horse?"
Dad answered with full confidence, "Yes. If the Bishop moves us to live on a farm, you can have a horse."
I never got the horse. Or had much opportunity to ride or be with horses over the years. But that part of me that loves horses has never gone away. So, Saturday afternoon, when I sat in row FF at the equestrian show, Odysseo Calvia, I was ready to move to a farm and spend the rest of my days grooming horses, mucking out stalls, and braiding manes.
I was surrounded by children, old and young, who felt the same as I did. Two girls in the row in front of me gripped their plush toy horses and waved their arms in the air at the wonder of it all. A young boy behind me wept in his mother's arms as we were leaving; he didn't want the show to be over.
What is it about these creatures that stirs our hearts in this way? I thank God for the gift of horses. And the gift of people who love them.
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