Why Do You Ride? Pssst - there are PRIZES involved, so read this!

Why ride a horse or pony? Emily is having the Fish Bowl Farm website re-done, and in the process of writing new information for the website she is thinking a lot about riding and caring for horses. She would like to talk directly with you, so I (Biscuit the horse) will take the keyboard back into the house for her to use. clip-clop-clip-clop...off I go down the driveway (Jynx!! Stay in the pasture with Blossom, I'll be right back!)...clip-clop-clip-clop...knock-knock... "Here's the keyboard, Emily!"

Thanks, Biscuit! Be sure to close the gate when you go back out to the field.

Hi friends, Emily the human being here! As Biscuit said, I'd like to talk to you. I teach people to ride and enjoy horses for a lot of reasons. The biggest reason is that I enjoy riding and being around horses so much, and I like to share that with people. But why do I like to ride?

• Because it is fun to feel the air on my face, and the motion of the horse.

• Because working with an animal is so different from (and so similar to) working with people. Different kind of language: body language and physical communication as well as verbal communication and listening.

• Because I can do it alone when I want to be alone with an animal, or I can ride with people when I want company. Yesterday I rode Echo alone and then Annie came out to the arena and rode Inigo, we had a great time riding together. Annie rode Echo for the first time ever - and they had fun getting to know one another. I rode Inigo a lot when he was really young, so I just stood with him and we watched Annie and Echo.

• Because it's outside and I like being outside. Even if it's cold or rainy or snowy -- not too cold or rainy or snowy though! I love observing what's going on around me - the other horses in their fields and paddocks, the birds flying around, the smells of the seasons, the growth of plants. This morning I saw a redtail hawk. Last weekend there was a bald eagle way up in the sky. Yesterday there were raccoon footprints in the arena. I would see these things if I was outside doing something else, but riding and being with horses gives me a reason to be outside, and being with an animal gives me an entrance into the natural world.

• Because riding and continuing my learning and training is a challenge. It's hard to get the horse to do exactly what I want - clear that jump in such a way, bend her body like that for a good leg yield or shoulders in movement. It's a great challenge. My husband and I talk about our individual natures sometimes. He's competitive, but I sometimes think I'm not. I'm not competitive in a "must win" kind of way, but more in an "I can do this better than myself/that" way. It's interesting how many reasons and motives there are for pursuing something.

Mostly I ride because I like horses. We'll save why I like horses for another day!

Why do you ride or want to ride? Let me and Biscuit know: write us a comment below or send Emily an email at ewigley@mindspring.com If you send us a really good reason why you ride or want to learn to ride, we'll give you a prize. No kidding, and it's not something icky or dumb, I have in mind two very nice prizes: one if you're far away (I can send it) and one if you're nearby and can come to Fish Bowl Farm. So get thinking and let us know "Why you like to ride!" Thanks!