Happy Birthday to the Old Grey Mare.

My old girl, Banee, is 32 years old today. Hard to believe she's still doing so well, but I am thankful for that. I first met her when we were both 14 or 15. Each year I rue my own birthday, but I cherish hers. I'll get as old as you want, Girl, just so long as you keep getting older with me. She became my primary riding and show horse off and on in 4-H. She ran me through the barrels the first time I pointed her at them, she could do tempi changes and a piaffe. She had no tail and the roundest belly I'd ever seen, not to mention a bit of a sway back. She was a fireball. She was tough to ride but I loved the challenge. She was the first horse I fell off of, and she was my worst fall to date when she tripped at the canter and we went sliding across the arena floor in a tangle. That Piaffe I mentioned? Yeah, she did that when you wanted her to walk, doesn't exactly gain points in pleasure classes full of dead-broke QH's. But I thought she was perfect. She still is.

Happy Birthday, Banee-nay.