Always There Are the Horses

Periodically, I run across this poem, yes, the one I got my blog title from, and reflect on its greatness. So, while I am certain I have posted this three years ago, here it is again!

Always….


I ride because I rode as a child when life was
simpler and somehow more complete. Only the whiff of a
clean horse is needed to remind of days gone by.


For always there have been the horses.


I ride because of all the great horse souls who have
shared their lives with me and taught me more than I
can say. Their names and faces flash before me as old
friends. I ride because of all the horses I shall
never ride. Those I have watched and marveled at from
afar for all their grace and beauty. This, the stuff of a
child's dream, the kind that doesn't die with time.


Always there are the horses.


I ride because the seasons call to me. Each unique in
its appeal and all quite frequently best viewed from
the back of a favorite horse. I ride because of all
things; horses are my passion. They inspire and
encourage, energize, and challenge in ways I cannot
explain to the uninitiated. I ride because of the
rush of stretching oneself just a bit farther today than
before, both mind and body.


Always there are the horses.


I ride because of those briefest of spans when the
partnership comes to full promise. When the path
twists and barriers fall, each footfall is measured
and balanced between the two as a dance.
There are no others, only this moment and this single step to ride.
The memories of those times stand vivid in my mind to
be recalled with all the freshness of the day at will
and in times less grand.


But if I must choose, I ride because I have dreams
yet to live. I ride because I have dreams yet to have;
and what exactly they will be tomorrow I cannot say,
but always there will be the horses.




WORD.