It has been a dream of mine since the last time I rode in Westernaires (a high speed mounted drill team located in Golden, Colorado) at the Event Center in Denver, to ride there again, in one way or another. Of course I’ve had big dreams of the Invitational Freestyle Reining, the Mounted Shooting and so forth, but life has just not allowed such things yet. But, last night, one phone call has quite possibly made this little dream come true.
The US Wild Horse and Burro Association is an organization that basically helps pull Mustangs out of bad situations, help adopters, volunteers for the BLM and raises awareness for the American Mustang. I am a Regional Director for them here in Nebraska. It is a non-profit and fun to be involved in. The president of the association called me last night and asked if I was close to Colorado. I said of course and she went on to tell me how she wanted me at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo, as another representative for the USWHBA. I was ecstatic to be invited, but not without my reservations. Despite my fears, I told her I would go.
My current Mustang is a bit of a puzzle, thus my concerns. I acquired her from someone who sought me out, purely because she knew I was “into” Mustangs. She needed to find her a home asap, and I basically said I’d take her sight unseen. I’ve had her a few short months now, and although broke to ride, she is not without hang ups. I’ve had little time to ride, mostly due to weather, other life commitments, and a transition in boarding facilities. Excuses? Maybe, but it’s the fact of the matter. I have not had much time on her. She can be… well… goofy. She is a lovely mare without a mean bone in her body but she has not bonded with me at all yet. She seems uninterested in human friendship unless it involves food. And she is not near the solid, broke, steady eddy I was promised. So although the previous owner has said Arwen has been in big indoors, around crowds and so forth, I have my doubts.
I know this will be good for her and that it could be a fantastic bonding weekend. She could really learn to rely on me if I approach the weekend right. Fantastic. But I still get butterflies. My biggest goal in the world is to promote Mustangs as amazing horses and the last thing I want to do is bring a horse that might cause a scene to one of the biggest Public Relations events the USWHBA has. But I also tend to have wild and irrational fears. I’ll have a couple months yet to prepare and get Arwen hauled to a few new places so I have an idea how she will behave. I have to have faith in my abilities, and I have to have faith in this little mare that is still a bit of a mystery to me. I’ve let myself down many of times, but I’ve never had a good Mustang let me down. So I guess in a few months Arwen will have the chance to show me what she’s made of, what she can be, what is in her heart. I hope it’s the same pure gold that made up the heart of my other Mustangs. I’m counting on her, and I hope I will be pleasantly surprised.
