ACTHA Monthly | September 2015 | 46
Eventually, Blend's little girl grew up and he was stuck with me, which was fine by me! My community had a saddle club with a good network of riders who enjoyed trail riding and various clinics to improve horsemanship skills. Life was good, and I was thoroughly enjoying my passion with a wonderful horse! If there was a place on the trail that was questionable, Blend was the “go to horse”. We would let him assess the situation and blaze the trail for others to follow. If I wanted to ride alone, I was always confident with Blend. We had little “goo-goo eyed” girls and a teenage boy with autism that visited Blend on a regular basis. He also visited church and homeless shelters and even participated in the Georgia Special Olympics Horse Show. God was giving me the desires of my heart through Blend and blessing so many others along the way.
Then came ACTHA, our true love. Wow, what an impact this organization made on the Jan-Blend Team! Together, we had developed a strong team relationship, been given a purpose and a job, and set a goal to achieve all we could with our combined talents. While I certainly made some great friends, Blend also realized he could enjoy the company of other equine companions! Although there was a steep learning curve, Blend was a natural at competitive trail riding. Our hard work paid off as our goals were reached. We started our first season in Pleasure as the season was 75% complete and qualified for Open in only two weekends. The following, season we took the state of Georgia and finished sixth in the Nation. We finished this past season fourth in the Nation and first again in Georgia.