I am up very early this morning and I chose to brew a cup of Zen Tea, I feel a wave of inspiration taking place so get ready for a little dose of my sappy insight. I recall the first Awards Banquet we attended like it was yesterday. Our family owned a Palomino welsh gelding named Zippety doo Dah, we carted him around in our little red trailer to all the local shows and Corey began her career riding in the 10 and under Equitation. Ricardo and I scraped up the money to take Corey and Krista to our first Awards Banquet. As they announced the awards to Corey's surprise she won 8th Place! I will never forget how excited she was to receive that award and I remember the light in Krista's eye as she dreamed of the day she would be standing proudly with her future awards. This was the beginning of a yearly ritual that we have done since 1987.
We had a wonderful celebration of accomplishments last night while attending the WSHJA Annual Awards Banquet. Each year we look forward to removing our helmets, boots and spurs and putting on our dresses, makeup and heels to spend quality time with our extended family to celebrate the year. Sitting at our table each year watching our students walk on stage to accept their awards, I am amazed at how quickly they grow and mature into these magnificent people and feel proud that we, in a small way, are allowed to be part of their journey. This is a wonderful time to reflect and guage where we have come and what we have learned. It is also a time to begin to set new goals and plot a course to the next phase of who we are to become. At the close of the evening we displayed all our winnings out for a group photo, Corey just sat herself down in the middle of all the awards our team had won and enjoyed the moment. In the midst of all the glitter and lights there is always one common bound we share and that my friends is a deep rooted, timeless love for a horse. I for one, am looking forward to what life lessons our horses and 2011 have to offer.
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