At horsethoughts.com you will find news and articles on various horse disciplines.

I have been around horses & riding since I could walk.

I graduated from a very bouncy red rocking horse on to dairy cow that my dad would sit me on as he led her from the paddock to the shed to be milked. From there I got my first Shetland pony, her name was Gina. She had a foal named Whiskey who when he was old enough provided me my sister and lots of friends many years of riding pleasure. (Whiskey was with us for 37 years)

After Whiskey came Beauty a 13h pony, Milly who was Whiskeys half sister, Trumby a big grey thoroughbred cross, Julie a 13.5 Appaloosa Shetland cross mare who took me to the Royal Melbourne show doing novelty events such as the Barrel Race, Flag Race, Bending Race, Rescue race etc. She won numerous Championships and State Championships.

Dad was breeding Appaloosa’s during this period and I also had big Appaloosa stallion named Ima Smartee, I taught him basic western pleasure and completed many trail rides with him. We also had Clydesdales and Shetlands – one extreme to the other and everything in between.

As a matter of course I learned how to break and train and my sister & I spent many school holidays breaking in a bunch of horses.

Later I had a quarter horse, thoroughbred cross who I used for hacking (basic dressage) around local shows. It was my sister however who really got into the hacking classes and gradually moved from there into hunting on thoroughbred clydesdale crosses and appaloosa Clydesdale crosses

I then got my first full blood thoroughbred. His name was Chamfa. He had just finished his racing career and his owner/trainer did not have any space for him upon retirement and he gave him to me. His speed was awesome. I used him for trail rides up until moving states, when I returned him to his trainer who had since moved properties and offered to take him back until I could arrange to transfer him interstate. Unfortunately he had an argument with a tiger snake and I never saw him again.

It was to quite a number of years before I got back into horses again, then about 18 months ago I met Barry & Shirley, who have endurance horses.

Now I am trying my hand at endurance riding. Arab and arab cross (anglo-arab) are the horse of choice for this sport and I am fortunate enough to have access to a paddock full of seasoned, unseasoned, unbroken & upcoming horses. I am about to take a 4 year old grey to his first endurance ride in a weeks time.

I ride, train and break with a seasoned endurance rider/owner who has been a successful endurance rider for many years and has competed in Australia’s prestigious Quilty 4 times.

Barry turned 70 last year and will be riding the 80km ride on one of the seasoned endurance horses whilst I complete 40km on a newbie. There will be 3 of us going on this ride. The 3rd rider moved into a house that backed on to Barry’s back paddock a couple of months ago. She followed the fence line, introduced herself and is riding a mare who I took on her first ride last year.