by Toni Mari
On the best show days, everyone practices good horsemanship, and the rider/horse teams perform their tests as expected and receive scores that reflect that. As the trainer and coach, I knock on wood and thank the heavens on days like that. But every day with horses isn’t always smooth. You do your best to prepare for whatever spooked them at the last show, and something new happens at the next one. Like goats, or a tarp, or a large, swaying tree waving its branches in the breeze.
But it would be a very boring read if everything went well and no one behaved badly.
The journey of training with a horse to show Dressage is thrilling and rewarding in itself, so the shows, the ribbons, and the titles are all extras. The journey I took when writing this series of novels, my first, was also thrilling and rewarding. Every response and review from a reader made me think about my methods and the results that I wanted to achieve. Success in riding depends on how well you develop communication with your mount. Success in writing depends on how well you communicate with your readers. I welcome any communication, whether you want to talk about the story, your horse, or anything else. Perhaps you have an exciting idea for a book. Run it by me.
I look out my window from my kitchen and see a dark, elegant head hanging out of the shed. I stand up, open the slider, and call her name. Lilly’s ears prick up and she looks right at me. I smile, knowing that later, after I close my laptop, she’ll come right to the gate and push her nose into the halter. I will enjoy the challenge of her colorful personality as I train her and my daughter, Grace. Even if the wind is blowing, or the farmer is ploughing in the next field, or a deer is strolling out of the woods, and she spooks at them, I will enjoy the energy and beauty of that special little mare.
Website: http://www.tonimaribooks.com
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21131306-and-we-danced