Horse Charmer guest post

Today I'm participating in the Horse Charmer Virtual Tour. First, here's the cover and blurb for this YA fantasy:

A gifted princess. A special horse. A quest for the truth.

At sixteen years old, Cassia would rather spend her days in the royal stables than in the royal court. But as the eldest child of King Robet and Queen Sarahann she obediently performs her duties as the Princess of Karah. 

Her safe world changes forever when her father is murdered in the neighboring kingdom of Vespera. Cassia grapples with his loss as her mother prepares her for her new role as queen. Her first task - she must travel to Vespera to marry a prince she barely knows to fulfill the treaty her father signed just before his death. 

Nothing is as simple as it seems with political intrigues and unusual powers shadowing Cassia on her search to find out who killed her father and why.

I have the author, Angelia Almos, with me talking about her first experience riding a horse. Take it away, Angelia!

It’s funny that Kelly asked me to talk about my first experience riding a horse. I have always remembered going on this pony ride when I was little that wasn’t like the traditional pony rides. Usually, a pony ride is run one of two ways. 1) the pony is hooked up to this merry-go-round like contraption where they walk in a circle like a carousel. Or 2) you are hand-walked on a course or a little trail which has been set up by the pony ride people. Every time I come across any pony rides, it is one of these two.

Yet, I have this memory of this “track” where the ponies were turned loose and would go one of three speeds. The slow inside walk track. The fast middle trot track. And the super fast canter track. This has been something I have remembered and think of and wonder, was it a dream? No one I have ever mentioned it to has been to one like this.

Imagine my surprise and delight when earlier this spring I headed to Los Angeles for a girls only trip with my daughters. On one of the days we decided to explore Griffith Park and drive around. At one of the entrances is a pony ride place. We pull in and I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was the very track I have “remembered” forever. The ponies turned loose in a groups with their riders tied to the saddles as they walked on the inside track, trotted on the middle track, and (though different from my memory) bigger ponies trot even faster on the outside track.

My youngest had to take a ride and though wanted to do a fast pony decided to do a walker since the trotting line was looooooong. While there I texted my dad to ask if this was the place I had always remembered. He didn’t remember it specifically since I always went on any pony ride we came across. But he did say they did take me to Griffith Park when I was little (before I was 5 and started riding lessons) and if that place was there then that I would have demanded to go on a pony ride. I wish I took a picture so I could show it here. But here is the website if you are curious - http://www.griffithparkponyride.com/

So, I am pretty sure I reconnected with my first remembered horseback ride. 

For the rest of you, have you ever ridden a horse? (Confession: I think horses are beautiful, but I'm too chicken to ride one.)