It all started in 1967 when I got my first pony, Cricket. Notice, however, that I am not on the pony in this photo. I think she bucked me off every time I got on her. It didn't diminish my love of horses though. A few years later we traded Cricket and a pig for another pony, Dolly.
 

Ebony is a 47" black and white pony. She was passed down through all three of my daughters and helped each of them learn to ride. Ebony is a one-of-a-kind pony and would always do anything asked of her. She could keep up with the big horses on the trail and often fought to be the leader on trail rides. Ebony was ridden by a younger relative for pony club for several years and is now back home again, enjoying her retirement with us.
 

Ginger is a registered Missouri Foxtrotter and was my trail horse for many years. She was shown by two of my daughters in 4-H and was also used for parades.
 

Maggie is a grade Quarter Horse and is probably the calmest horse I have ever seen. Maggie started out as my oldest daughter, Lisa's horse, although the first photo shows my youngest, Julie, on her at age 5. Lisa is a nurse now and Maggie is enjoying semi-retirement at the home of a friend.
 

You probably guessed Digory isn't a horse, but don't tell him that. Digory is a 34" miniature donkey. We bought him when he was 2 and trained him to pull a cart, although he never really was too excited about anything involving exertion. His favorite pastime is eating. Digory was purchased a few years ago to be a companion animal for a Hackney pony.
 

Satin was my middle daughter's horse after she outgrew Ebony. Satin is a registered Racking Horse and is smooth as silk and loves to go. Kristy is in college now and Satin was sold to someone looking for an endurance trail horse.
 

This was our group of girls when we were all trail riding together (around 2003). Ebony/Julie, Ginger/Me, Maggie/Lisa, and Satin/Kristy. 
 

Kezi is the daughter of Satin. I raised her from a foal. My daughter, Julie, and I trained her ourselves. She has a very willing personality. Unlike her mother, she doesn't really like to go! Sometimes I think she hung around with Maggie so much that she thinks she is a Quarter Horse. Kezi is currently owned by one of the girls who participated in our Christian Cowgirl Club.
 

Kody, is my daughter, Julie's current horse. He was born in 2004 and is a grade paint whose mother was half draft horse. Julie is showing him 4-H and local shows and plans to make him a versatility horse, doing a little of everything with him from trail to jumping.
 

After selling Kezi, I purchased Sassy, my first mule. Sassy was very good on trails. I had ridden gaited horses for so long, I had forgotten how rough a non-gaited animal can be, especially when Sassy was in high gear trying to keep up on the trails with Kody.

I decided to go back to a gaited horse to save my back and sold Sassy in 2011 to a woman in TX. Sassy had quite a fan club here and they were all sad to see her go.

In the summer of 2011, I purchased my current horse, Nikki. She is a Rocky Mountain and was severely underweight when I bought her. 

She needs a little work on softening and smoothing her gait. She tries to go faster than she's capable of gaiting at this point.

She has a wonderful personality and is an excellent trail horse. We also participated in drill team and a parade.