I was bitten by the "Horse Bug" at birth. This affliction has followed me from my first breaths to the present day. I remember the first time I saw a horse, live in the flesh. I was 6 years old and my Dad rented a horse for us to ride on a trail ride in Arkansas. Being less than 4' in height, I was overwhelmed by the size of the 15 hand horse we were going to ride. I enjoyed the ride, more than anything, and didn't want to leave. After that, I tortured my parents, begging ,and pleading for them to buy me a horse. It took writing Santa Claus for his help in obtaining my first horse. 

On Christmas Day when I was 8 years old, I arose at dawn and checked out the tree.  Santa left me a lovely western saddle under the Christmas tree...talk about being confused. Santa left me a saddle with no horse to put it on. WTF?I went back to bed and fell back asleep, hoping I would be able to at least saddle my dog up and ride him around. Finally my parents l woke up!!  They told me they had a surprise for me. We drove out to a stable and my parents had me cover my eyes while they got me to the barn. When I opened my eyes I almost passed out. Standing before me was a sorrel quarter horse about 4 years of age. I swore I had never seen a more gorgeous horse. Her name was Santabar and honestly, not the best choice for a first time horse owner. I wasn't able to ride her alone. She was green broke at best and only my Dad and the trainer at the barn could ride her. I started taking lessons at the stable, learning all the in and outs of horse ownership and riding. I would spend afternoons at the barn cleaning stalls, riding, grooming, and basically eating, breathing, and sleeping horses. I was the kind of girl that bored everyone at school because I only had one thing on my mind---HORSES!!. Only the other "bitten" children could stand to be around me.

I started off riding western. I loved events like barrel racing, poles, flags, etc. I would enter all the gaming classes at the stables monthly open shows. It wasn't until the stable hosted an English riding show that I learned I was missing out on a whole other world of horses. I couldn't believe the size of the jumps the horses were jumping and was dying to learn how to post the trot. I didn't get to learn about english riding until I was in my late teens.

By my 20's, I took a major interest in trying to make a career with horses. I was teaching lessons, exercising/training horses and buying and selling. I was burning the candle at both ends, but I was determined to make this work. I was showing in 'A' shows and also showed in World Championship and National level shows. I was blessed with some excellent sponsors/supporters and talented horses. While I was supposed to be living my dream, I really ended up being tired and broke. I put my body through much punishment, breaking horses, or them breaking me, and working myself into the ground. It took me awhile before I admitted it was time to look for another profession. 

Above: Shine Hill Peanut - Percheron stallion competing in XC.                                     

Even as a child I had always enjoyed sketching horses, or people, and was pleasantly surprised to learn there was a model horse world out there. I had owned a couple of Breyer models when I was younger. When I learned you could repaint them or resculpt them, I knew I had to learn how to do that. I started with a book on pasteling and bought some $1 plastic model horses to practice on.  I scanned the internet to learn different painting techniques,how to use an airbrush, and tried my hand at painting in different mediums. After much study, I learned  to customize. Some of my first works were pretty scary, but you have to crawl before you can walk, right? I now enjoy mixing medium from airbrush, soft pastels, acrylic and pencil. I am always experimenting with different mediums, as I feel you should never limit yourself with just one or two. (or in this case four). I discovered that I really enjoy all of this and am constantly trying to improving my skills. So please check out the galleries page as well as the News page for some of my latest works. Thank you for stopping by!

Above: Breezie (my first mini, and my first time driving!)                         Ergo  my eventing partner- Excellent jumper.

 Above: Jazz ( 20+ grand prix Swedish WB)                                           Hughie again, and me without a helmet- BAD!

                                                                                                      I always ride in a helmet, especially since your head isn't replaceable.