'Tis the season...

This time of year I try to reaffirm my friendship with people I may not contact on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis. I highly value my friends, having grown up with very few. I like to send out a holiday letter with mention of the most noteworthy events of the past year. I include a 4" x 6" photo collage of a few of the best pictures from the year. As you can imagine, they are usually horse related.

I have been poring over my photo albums from the past few years, especially since I use some of them for blogs about the past. Sometimes I have gone months without taking more than a picture or two. Other times I take millions of them, usually when I go on a trail ride.

Now I am considering which pictures to include in my collage this year. I want a picture of each of my three remaining horses under saddle, since I started them all myself just this past summer. I'm not sure if I actually want to include myself in the pictures. I don't like having my picture taken or sharing those pictures, but it does illustrate the point that I've now ridden all of my ponies. I think I'll post some of the candidates here, and if anyone actually reads this, that person can offer his or her opinion :-) I can probably use up to six pictures.

1. Phoenix after the Friday Before Mother's Day Ride (self-explanatory) in Valparaiso, NE. The grey is my friend Julie's Swedish Warmblood mare, Vivian.

2. Zeplin looking sharp in his English tack.

3. Not a horse, or under saddle, but I definitely need to include my Quimby girl.

4. My favorite riding picture of Jazzy with me cropped out as much as possible. I love her soft expression in this one.

5. A picture of me on Jazzy where I didn't chop myself out, but probably should have.

6. Jazzy in her Western attire.

7. Zeplin and I on our first trail ride away from home (Lake Cunningham in Omaha).

8. A close up of Zeplin's face at Lake Cunningham.

9. My favorite riding picture of Caly with me cropped out quite a bit. I love her beautiful face with the ears perked forward in this one.

10. Caly and I at Lake Cunningham on her first "official" trail ride.

11. My niece Samantha on Caly.

12. Caly saddled and ready to go.

13. Or maybe I should include a picture from my D.C. trip? In front of the Lincoln Memorial?

14. In front of the White House?

Hmmm... I'm not liking the pictures with me. Anyone actually read my blog and have some input (tell me the numbers of the pictures you think I should include)? :-P