Candi's Corner: Wanderlust and Passions

I am not quite sure when I've first developed the desire to ride horses. I've always wanted a pony as a kid, and always felt that I would like to be on horse in open fields. My mother, however, was(is) afraid of horses, and felt it would be a dangerous activity, so I was not allowed to ride horses .So, when I got on my own, I went riding the first chance I got.

My very first time on a horse was on Maui. Me, Bill( before we even started dating), and two friends from work (Pete and Keoki),took a trail ride in Napili, past Lahaina in west Maui Ironwood Ranch. I rode a beautiful paint horse,white with brown patches, named Queen Latifah. Thinking of that day brings a lot of memories and puts a smile on my face for many reasons, for one it was my first time on a horse, I had hard time getting on and off Queen Latifah, and later I leaned that Bill was already loving me then, we started dating four or five months later, but that is another story.

Riding Queen Latifah in the tropical valleys and ironwood forests was a lot of fun; fresh air, perfect weather, beautiful panoramic scenes and nice company. The ride though left me longing for more, and I felt I was missing something.Later I've learned that it was control I was missing,and actually RIDING the horse.This is a photo of me when i first got on Queen Latifah, and the ranch dude was guiding us to the trail. Queen Latifah was so good to me, she knew exactly what to do and where to go,which was a good start for me and horses.

The first chance I got after that, which happened to be in Albuquerque,NM, I started taking western horseback riding lessons. Six month later by the time we left Albuquerque, I was already able to get on and off the horse,walk,trot, lope, stop and steer the horse. I take horseback riding lessons everywhere we go, on different horse, under a different instructor, but with growing passion and a lot of improvement.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to ride since we got to Spokane, for weather reasons really.So I am having horses withdrawals, and I can't wait to get my fix when I get back on Maui.