May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through! ~Author Unknown

It is time to look back at the year and reflect and honor our journey. It is also time to look forward with excitement to the new year and see where our journey takes us for "The soul rides on the feathers of the wind" `Meister Eckhart

Horses, for me, represent a bridge to nature and all creation. They are nature in all her glory here on earth while they also invite us to journey and connect with our intuitive higher selves.

Is there any where in your life that you may feel stuck? Like the windhorse, horses have the ability to lend us the wings we need to soar and take flight with the wind while allowing us to overcome the obstacles we may be facing.

May joy and well being be yours this holiday season.

XOXO Susan

www.windhorseone.com

The Spirit of Andalusia

I have been home for two weeks now from my trip to Europe. Every year my mother takes me and my sister on a cruise around several amazing countries in Europe. This year it was Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, and France. Mom lost her leg to melanoma 4 years ago so she needs my help to tour the cities. You don't see me complaining! But if you ever see somebody pushing a wheelchair at warp speed (to keep up with the guides) down the cobblestone streets of Belgium - then it may be me!

There was an amazing trip to Andalusia to visit a villa where they raise famous bulls for bullfighting and also world class horses, also for bullfighting. I learned that when a matador is standing that means he probably comes from little to no money. When the matador is mounted they have come from wealth and if there is any goring going on it is probably the poor horse that takes the hit. Think about it - the price of these animals is amazing. Well I have to admit I am not a fan of bullfighting so I missed a good part of the tour to photograph the horses. What a pitty! LOL!!

The white stallion was tied in his stall and had probably already been ridden. The manners on these animals are amazing and we were allowed to enter the stall. The owner of the villa is associated with the Spanish Riding School so all the horses are trained in classical dressage.

This amazing stallion was tied up outside in a cobblestone courtyard. He is also an Andalusian but is an uncommon bay color. What a surprise awaited us...... We continued on the tour and visited an indoor arena where they train the bulls to become more aggressive. We then went on to the indoor arena where the horses were ridden and we were treated to a demonstration of how a horse is trained and prepared for bullfighting by this fine horse and the owner of the villa!

The tour continued for a tapa lunch complete with a Flamenco dancing show followed by a tour of a sherry winery. What an amazing day! I can still feel the passion of the horses and the dancers.

I will post some mare and foal pictures soon and maybe a pic or two of the villa so you can get an idea of what this place was like. Also, if I can find my note paper I will tell you the name of the villa.

There is something about the baroque horses that has me captivated.

Bye for now!
Susan

New Addition to Baroque Series

This past summer I had the good fortune to watch this Andalusian stallion strutting his stuff during an evening performance at a draft horse event we were exhibiting at. I took a break from the booth and to my delight he was at liberty in an outdoor arena getting some exercise and playing with his handler. I had never seen anything like it before.

I just finished the piece recently in time for another event we were attending called Horsecapades. It was a benefit for the Cowboys Up organization which uses horses for equine assisted psychotherapy. The event had a great lineup of costumed riders and horses performing to music.

My favorite was an Andalusian stallion called Acierto who does amazing maneuvers around his person/owner while at liberty. I can't wait to go through the photographs to see what I got. I am hoping for a good shot of him rearing.

Bye for now,
Susan