My sister, Maureen, continued her quest for the perfect tall, skinny horse. Instead of merely asking around or checking local want ads and for sale items, we ventured to a couple of stables. Maureen took one look at the tall, skinny American Saddle Horse in this picture, and “Lancer” joined our family. Lancer was a fine-looking horse, all right. He even went forward when asked, unlike her previous mount, Butch. Maureen didn’t want to ride him bareback, but loved transitioning to English. We both loved riding Lancer English, with the lighter saddle, the double reins, jodhpurs, English riding boots, even a bowler hat.
Still, something was missing, and I think I felt it right away. Lancer was a good horse, but not a friend, not like Sugar and Misty. He was hard to catch and didn’t seem to enjoy rides on our country roads. I’m not sure how long Lancer lasted. I don’t think he was high-stepping enough for Maureen. She still loved horses, but she had lots of other interests too. And by this time, she was in high school and well on her way to becoming homecoming queen. She knew her days were numbered for acquiring the horse of her dreams–tall, skinny, high-stepping, 3-gaited, or maybe 5-gaited, flaxen mane and tail. And so the search went on . . . .
I’ve written about Lancer in several books, though always with a different name. He reminds me of Bold Beauty in the original Winnie series. If any readers can think of “fancy” horses in my other horse books, I’d love for you to refresh my memory.
Tags: American Saddle Horse, books, Hamilton, horseback riding, horses, memories, Missouri, Wild Thing
Dandi's Blog 
May 16, 2018 at 2:57 pm |
Was’t Summers Horse fancy??And by the way I just wanted to know, how long does it usually take you to write a Winnie the horse gentler book?
May 16, 2018 at 3:34 pm |
You’re right! Summer’s horse was fancy, and Summer was Winnie’s nemesis. It takes me 3 months on average for a Winnie book, though I like to have 4. The first 2 books took longer because I was establishing the series’ “world.”
May 21, 2018 at 10:59 pm |
Oh yes she was! Only three months!? Cool! Sorry, but it only only takes me two days(Because I actually stop myself!) to read them! one time I read one all in a day!*slaps forehead*. B.T.W, I saw on hallmark your book, “My boy friends Dogs” was a movie! It was really good! Nice job!
May 23, 2018 at 6:31 am |
Thanks! Glad you caught the movie. It was such fun to see the filming. I learned a lot!
May 23, 2018 at 9:31 am |
Your welcome! i am too! That’s so cool!