Finally….

Darlene is the gal I met at the nail parlor a month or so ago. She has called a couple of times and today, we finally were able to connect at the stable!

Darlene and her four year old, Lilly the filly.

Next, I met Brienne, the twenty-four year old lady; part Arabian and part Pure Bred. Bri and I clicked.

Another shot of Lilly. Darlene said she has ridden Lilly, but she’s still working with her.

With Bri’s halter in hand, we head to the  arena for a little free exercise time.

Lilly and Bri didn’t waste any time getting their exercise on.

Superstition Mountain makes a beautiful backdrop for the stable.

The owner of the stable really wasn’t napping, just talking.

Next, Bri is ready to be groomed and I got the honor of rubbing her down.

Sweet Bri has had a cancer on her nose for about four years.  Darlene puts medication on it almost every day.

Boy, was I relieved to see the step!! Darlene used it to mount Bri to ride her and make sure she would be calm enough for me.

Bri would just snuggle right up to me. She was so sweet.

The only disappointment of the afternoon: my camera battery was dead! So the only pictures I got were with my cell phone. This is a self-pic, mega close, but I really like it… a lot.

This is the only documentation that I rode Bri. That’s my hand and I took this picture of her neck and the ground from my seat in the saddle.

I am so grateful to Darlene Manley for inviting me to check off "ride a horse" on my bucket list. I don’t know if I got my horse riding fix or whetted my appetite even more.

I am one happy country girl tonight.