That's some pretty county right there.

Well what do you know...my boy, Bailey, imported from Ireland, was a Hanoverian cross , 19 hands a giant , that had a swing gait at the extended trot in dressage , and could jump the biggest oxers with ease in cross-country racing . The time span between his contact posting in the trot seemed like forever.

Proves lots of times the breed doesn't always read the script and can do surprising things that another breed does.

There is an old Bedouin Tribe saying, that has been in existence for several thousand years, about mares...in paraphrase, if you want to win the war, ride a mare.

A good mare is worth her weight in gold.

Love those horses in your photos.

The mare that taught me the most, was Lazy....anything but. She was a warrior and consistent as any gelding you've ever known.

I ran her in the barrels and she cleaned up. She was the old style appy ...not many people liked riding her. She wasn't mine, her owner never rode her but loved it when we met and hired me to work with her.

I never was able to work this out of her, but at the beginning of every ride...every single ride , the moment we got up to speed, she would pull a Lippizan Capriole and leap straight up high in the air, kick out with both back feet, then once she landed, get down to business and tear up the contest time to win or nearly so. It was that mighty leap that everyone else disliked. I didn't like it either, and spent much time trying to figure out why...gear fit, changing headgear, vet checks....nothing. She did it just because...she frowned often, as in the photos in our training maneuvers. She did best with a simple D snaffle ....no leverage-nothing.

I just loved her. We had a partnership that I learned so much from, in total respect. That's all she needed.

A good mare is impossible to beat. That was a Billy Cook saddle . I later traded it for a 1923 Hamley.

She taught me how to really ride.

The bottom pic is herself beginning that leap . I wished the camera person had got it just a nanosecond later ...

Y'all live some wonderfully God blessed lives.

WHAT A WOMAN!!