About Gem and I

I live in Canada with My Husband and 3 dogs.  I can honestly say that my life is pretty much as I envisioned it when I was in my early 20's.  We live in a lovely village.  Our backyard backs on to a creek.  I am a wildlife advocate and we are fortunate enough to enjoy a variety of wildlife right out our back door including geese, deer, ducks, raccoons, coyotes and wild turkeys.

I started riding in my early 50's.   I know, I know....crazy, eh?!  I wanted to have a hobby for when I retired, something that would get me out of doors.  Riding seemed like the answer.  I took weekly lessons for 4 years.  I eventually reduced my lessons to occasional private lessons or clinics.  For the last couple of years, I have mostly been riding the trails on the property where I board.  I have fallen a few times and I have survived winter riding.  I'm still standing!  Gem and I became partners in April 2009.  If you want some background on how I got to this place in my life, you can start here.

Within a very short period of time, Gem became an important part of my life.  He is a black registered Canadian (yes, we have a national horse!), he's big (16hh), he's curious, and "mischief" is his middle name.  He is really smart, loves a challenge (stall latches are his specialty!), comes when I call him and understands quite a number of verbal cues.

For a long time, he was smarter than me (and he knew it!), but the last couple of years have seen us really start to become partners.   We now have a much better understanding of each other and as my confidence and skill improves, so does our relationship.  He has helped me become a better rider.  He is solid,  brave and does not spook. He is barefoot and his feet are the size of side plates.  :-)   He's not a malicious horse and is particularly kind with younger people and is very patient when they climb up on him for a ride.  I love him to bits and I am looking forward to when I retire so I can spend more time with him.   If you want to know more about Gem's background and how we found each other, you may want to check out here and here.

Thanks for stopping by!!!