Vandas Angel, or "Van" for short.

So it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I don’t know why I didn’t post about Van earlier since I’ve had him since August 2012, but I definitely have to talk about him now.

It's been one of my life dreams to own a horse, ever since I started riding around the age of 10 (which is actually late for most riders—most start around 6-8). While I will never, ever be very “flush” with money now, it will totally be worth it to have Van in my life. Having a horse is sort of like having a toddler for 30 years (horses live to be about 30) so it’s definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done and I feel the weight of being responsible for his health and well-being often. I don’t really know what I’m doing most of the time but, luckily, I have good people around me who give great advice and, so far, Van and I have been fine.

Van is an ex-racehorse (off-the-track-Thoroughbred), now 6-years old but he was about 5.5 when I got him. He has only been off the racetrack since June 2012 (not even a year!) and I’ve had him since August 2012. I “bought” him from his breeder who was looking for a good home for him after he stopped winning enough races to “earn his way.” This is pretty common in the racing industry and his owner was good enough to spend the effort to find him a good home AND offer him for free (lucky me!).

My good friend and trainer, Kristen, trained Van for the first three months I had him and gave us a really great foundation to work from. Since then, I have moved Van to a different barn and we no longer have the privilege of working with Kristen and miss her every day. However, we are working with another trainer and figuring stuff out on our own as well. Recently we went to our first show and placed 1^st in our class. I was so surprised, proud, and totally comforted by the fact that I seemed to be doing something right!

We still have a lot of work to do together as we grow as a team but we’re on the right track and good things must be in store!

P.S. Thank you, Anonymous, for caring enough to send me a little note and get me to start posting again. You really should tell me who you are but I respect that you realize I'm way too scary.