I have some exciting news!
If you haven't already noticed, I am a horse girl. Yes, one of those horse mad ladies who can't get enough of anything equine. Be it unicorns, ponies, zebras, show jumpers, headless horsemen...anything horsey I am into! What some of you may not know, is that I used to be an EA accredited instructor (over a decade ago!) and used to enjoy show jumping and competing in all sorts of horsey events.
Anyone who knows horse girls, will know they always have a special place in their hearts for the one horse that they place above all others. Us horse girls call them "our heart horse". My heart horse was Ange. She raced as Thai Gold and many years after racing, she became my beautiful, bold and courageous show jumper Mi Bailerina. Her paddock/pet name was Ange. She passed away quite a few years ago now, and I was so heart broken that I never rode another Throughbred again., because no one could replace Ange.
Well..that is until I met Lake Tana. My teenage son, Maverick, and I decided we would take a look at this bay mare that a gentleman on Facebook suggested we check out. We hitched up a friend's old float (I had sold mine years ago, after I found myself as a single parent with barely enough money to keep a car on the road, let alone a float!). When we arrived in the middle of a large, open paddock, Mavy and I pulled up and almost bogged the float. It was raining, and terrible weather to be test riding a young, 5 year old off the track Thoroughbred mare.
Lake Tana was pretty, but rather skinny. Not RSPCA style skinny, but what us horse mad girls would call "light on". We only rode her for a few minutes each, partially due to the muddy, slippery ground and also because I didn't want to hurt her back. Lake Tana stood around 15.3hh, but lacked a top line, meaning she had minimal muscling across her back. Her behaviour was impeccable. Her eyes were kind, and she was very cuddly!
Knowing barely anything about this mare, I knew she was the one. Not a true Ange replacement, though. When I first rode Ange, it was like riding a fire-breathing dragon! Ange refused to do a thing I asked of her until I took her into an open field and dropped the reins and let her make all the decisions!
We loaded Lake Tana, and on the 2 and a half hour journey, Mavy and I argued over what her name would be. I suggested "Princess", "Sweety" or "Dancer". Mavy had some dumb names I just hated, but when he suggested "Rayna", I agreed. I changed his version of how the name should be spelt, and Lake Tana's new name was now to be spelled "R_A_I_N_A", because we bought her on a rainy day!
We have had the pleasure of our new family member, Raina, for over 2 months now, and she has not put one hoof out of line. She has gained a lot of weight and costs a lot to feed! She looks fantastic, and is still just a quiet and sweet as she was the day we bought her. If anything, she is even nicer to ride. She enjoys attention and had already taught Mavy a lot about riding and horses. She is patient with him, happy to plod around on a loose rein, and more energetic with me. When I get on back, she switches it up a gear, still whilst on a loose rein. We just love her.
So why is me finally having a beautiful new Thoroughbred exciting news? Well, it means I have found my passion for drawing Thoroughbreds again! I have already drawn 4 racehorses so far-Lake Tana, Phar Lap, Black Caviar and the Group One, Metropolitan Stakes track record winner Just Fine. You can purchase on of my new prints of these track superstars at the link below:
Comments