After a long break....

Being a mother of a young child and keeping up with my riding has proven to be a very difficult challenge. But the more I drift from showing, the more I realize what a gift riding has been. My daughter starts preschool next week, and that renews my hope that I will once again find time to ride.

An extremely hot summer also has put a kink in the works this year. As a working mom who doesn't get home until 1 a.m. and boards her horse 30 minutes away, summer temperatures well into the 90s has made it difficult to ride without killing myself and my horse in the heat. There are certainly some major advantages to having your horses at home and being able to fit a ride in as the sun goes down or comes up.

There are many setbacks between me and being back in the center of the arena. A new location where the landscape of the show arena is different than it was where I grew up. Different breeds at the forefront of popularity. Different styles of riding in the hunt ring, where quarter horses no longer rule the rail.

For now I'm vowing to get back to riding while my daughter starts her new chapter in preschool. And meanwhile, I'm also going to attend lots of shows. Feed my other hobby: horse photography. And a side business that could help me pay the show bills.

It's always something

Now in Virginia horse country, I traveled an hour north on Interstate 81 from Roanoke to visit the Virginia Horse Center while it was hosting the Virginia Classic quarter horse show. And just as early spring shows always seem to affect me, it gave me horse show fever.

Unfortunately, this year has some extra obstacles in my way. My horse trailer's lights shorted out on our trip from Pennsylvania to Virginia and I haven't yet investigated how difficult that will be to fix. Plus, even worse, both my truck and my trailer are now entangled in DMV hell. It's gonna take lots of red-tape wrangling and extra cash to get them back legally on the road with Virginia plates. So for summer I may have to chalk up to a training break and a chance to survey the show options in my new area.

The Virginia Horse Center is beautiful with new buildings and gorgeous arenas, both covered and open. And it's a very easy drive from Roanoke. Now I need to explore what's out there for open shows, which are cheaper and good for seasoning a young horse. And you don't have to dress quite as brilliantly.

Watching the Virginia Classic this weekend, I was constantly reminded of the money that simply sat on those horses in the exhibitors' outfits, saddles, bridles -- all heavily laden with silver, rhinestones and all manner of things that glitter under the sun and arena lights. But my belief that judges are able to look past all that glitter and see the best horse still prevails. I have won with minimal silver and a simple outfit, because I put my money into my horse. Invest in a good outfit that will stand the test of time, meaning it won't go out of season as the latest trend fads away. And invest in the best equipment you can afford and take care of it. I still have bridles I have used for 15 years. And it helps to ride English. The classic hunter look never goes out of style!