Horseback Riding - Post Spica

Dear Little Angel,

     Activities of summer have filled our days as a family.  Time spent in the mountains, sharing trips as a family and multiple visits to swimming pools and splash pads have created many additional memories to treasure.  In the past few weeks, you spent one such afternoon playing with your cousins and a small stick horse.  As the hours passed, you galloped around the halls, as your imagination painted a world filled with cowboys and ponies.  By the end of the day, your mind was made up as you requested repeatedly for a stick horse to be purchased so you might have a horse of your own.  In the following weeks, a small white stick horse was bought and presented to you by your grandmother in hopes the continued play time would help strengthen your hips and aid the physical therapy you have been attending.  As our hopes had intended, the white stick pony, has continued to encourage you to prance around the house as your imagination ran wild.  At some point, the stick horse no longer met the needs of a small child, now fascinated with the concept of a horse, a wooden stick with a white stuff head no longer fulfilled your desires.  The simple request of a stick horse has now grow into a whole new dream. In your own words, "I want to ride a real horse!"  Continued requests and increased intensity in pleas convinced your parents to reach out to your uncle for an invitation to spend an evening at their house with time set aside to ride his horses.
     Upon spotting the horses in the back fields, a quick glance to your family, followed by a loud squeal of excitement, you proclaimed, "I am going to ride a real horse!"  Uncle Richard smiled as he instructed you to walk out there and catch the one you wanted.  A puzzled look came across your face as you struggled to come with a solution of how such a small girl was going to get on top of the horse.  Walking into the field, you paused for a while to study the situation. Then turning around, you questioned, "Will it just pick me up and put me on it's back?"  With halter rope in hand, your uncle walked up to the horses, placing the rope on his most trusted proven horse.  With halter attached, he handed you the end of the rope.  From the distant field, the echo of pride could be heard as you proclaimed to everyone, "I caught one!"

     The remainder of the evening as the sun set, casting it's warm golden glow, you and your siblings took turns setting in the saddle as the horse was lead around the pasture, pausing for only a moment to allow video and pictures.