Picture Post, Part 2

So I printed this in the same class as the first picture, and it's one of my favorites. It's very sentimental, taken in Dayton back at the stables where I've gone horseback riding since I was 14 (though I started riding around 11 at a horse camp). It's a picturesque place with a big white barn, an indoor arena, adorable barn cats and acres of beautiful trails. And the instructor is great, never without stories of the interesting people that pass through. Even now when I go back to Ohio to visit I always try to squeeze in a lesson.

Riding is sooo much fun (especially cantering), but it's more than that. Whenever I'm on a horse, I feel like I'm reconnecting to the natural world, to something ancient, almost timeless. There is a certain harmony in having to work with another living thing, and horses are such beautiful animals.

Dayton is very much a city - there's even a downtown, with a skyline and all (albeit a pathetic one by NY standards) - but I would've never had the chance to grow up on horses if I'd always lived in NYC. It's an experience I'm grateful for, and it's definitely affected my writing.