"Just follow your heart...that's what I do." --Napoleon Dynamite

When I'm on the fence about something and can't reach a decision, I, like many people, make a list of pros and cons. (Of course, my fastidious self takes this a bit further by categorizing and assigning weights to each pro and con before tabulating the results...on an Excel spreadsheet...yeesh...I know.) But sometimes the right choice defies logic and reason; sometimes it's a mistake to choose what looks best on paper. I supposes that a lot of people learn this the hard way in choosing careers or even spouses!

After my fall from the magnificent Miki Moto, riding sweet Francie seemed to be the safest and most logical decision. Francie is older and a little smaller, with a smoother gait, than Moto. Gentle Francie is beloved among beginners, and a great partner for a newly-timid, slightly gimpy, accident-prone, inexperienced rider like myself. Francie and I were to be quite the team.

But of this, a despair. It was a good match only on paper. I made zero progress over the past nine months. Francie knew I wasn't in charge. In June, I took a break from riding--partly because my awesome instructor was on vacation, but equally because I wasn't enjoying riding. It's hard to enjoy riding when you're scared off your you-know-what.

Two weeks ago, I decided to throw reason to the wind. It wasn't doing me any good anyway. I started riding again, but this time on Moto. So what if he's a giant with a rocking horse gait? He's the horse I loved to ride. And guess what? He still is!