“You should have our own blog.”  I heard  this over and over from my son (  who is a manager of client projects in a marketing firm) and my daughter ( who is the program manager of social media and marketing in a consulting firm).  Over and over they told me. “You should start your own blog.” I had been writing editorials for a British horse website and also occasional guest posts on another blog.  The idea of having my own blog site seemed intimidating. But finally I took the plunge. The British site has started to do some editing of my  writing that did not sit too well with me and then they said my photos were not good enough.  Time for my own blog!

My son came to visit while I was in Florida last March and in one afternoon he set up my site with Word Press.  I have been grateful ever since that he chose Word Press it is a great organization to be part of and very supportive.

My first post was on March 30, an interview with equine photographer Susan Stickle . I have photos taken of me  in competition by Susan and I really enjoyed this opportunity to find out more about her and about her career. Horses through the lens.

Looking back over the year it has been a marvelous learning curve for me on Word Press. The Blogging U courses were enlightening and helpful.  So here are the blog posts that were the most popular.

POSTS WITH MOST VIEWS

1. Charlotte Dujardin Clinic: Day One   For this post I took copious notes during the dressage clinic given by Olympic Gold Medalist Charlotte Dujardin. The post is basically selected quotes of her wisdom on riding and training horses from age 4 up to horses at the Grand Prix level .I also wrote a post about the second day of the clinic. Day Two
2. Ask the Vet: What does it take to transport a horse to the Rio Olympics? Veterinarian Dr. Usha Knabe the accredited vet for the Canadian Dressage riders and their horses at the Rio Olympics told me all about the detailed preparation, paperwork and horse care necessary to send a horse to Rio to compete in  the Olympics.
3. In 3rd place is The Great Canadian Dressage Race to Rio. I had so much fun writing this!  Seriously, I really did. The lead up to the Olympics for Canadian dressage riders was far from fun however. The qualifying criteria was kept secret by the National Federation ,Equestrian Canada ,and they also kept the leaderboard secret. This proved to be a disastrous scenario with no one knowing who was ahead and who would be going to Rio. At the last moment there was also a judging debacle with one judge giving higher marks to one rider in what appeared to be favoritism and this led to complaints being filed with the International Equestrian Federation. There was nothing I could do when writing about all this other than take a light hearted , if somewhat facetious, approach.

PRODUCT REVIEW MOST VIEWED

Of the product reviews Omega Alpha’s Sinew-X Plus was the leader. This is an excellent joint supplement for horses and judging  from the number of views there are many horse riders and owners out there who are looking for support for their horse’s joint.

MY PERSONAL FAVORITE

My personal favorite is : The Day I Met a Cavalry Black. I wrote this on a trip to London, England when my husband and I went to see the Horse Guards.  I loved my encounter with one horse and it inspired me to write this blog and two more about the Cavalry Blacks and their lives and also about the day they were struck by  terrorism in 1982.

One of the things I have enjoyed about joining the Blogoshere is reading the work of other writers; some on the other side of the world and some on the other side of the age spectrum from me. This is a window into the hearts and minds of people I would not otherwise get to see. It’s wonderful.

Thank you, Dear Readers, for taking the time to read my posts. As of today there have been 43,581 views and 29,463 visitors. I know that in the Blogosphere this is not a cause for a standing ovation. But for me it is!  I do hope you will continue on with me. This winter I will be posting from Florida and the winter competition season there with posts about my own training and competition, my horse Biasini will be “speaking” as well and I am accredited media for the Winter Equestrian Festival ( one of the biggest and longest running horse shows in the world) and the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. There will be lots to tell you about and please if there are any particular aspects of this you want to know more about let  me know! Leave  a comment I’d love to hear from you.

All the best to you for 2017! Onwards ever onwards!