Wednesday, May 29, 2013

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.)

39 comments:

  1. I've never ridden a horse, but I always wanted to.

    Pleased to meet Angelia.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm thinking being like four-years-old at a county fair on some teeny horse doesn't count. So...not really. :) Great topic for a guest post. Nice meeting you, Angela!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, that's probably the last time I was on one, but it was a pony.

      Delete
  3. I rode a horse when I was six years old, and it was a normal sized one. Several years later I came face to face with a horse again and though "That's massive!" It's the only time where my memory of something as a child seemed even larger as an adult, lol. Plus, I learned I'd developed allergies and ended up with streaming eyes and nose.

    Lovely to meet you Angelia, and that's great you figured out the experience wasn't a dream :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've ridden lots of times, but it's been years :).

    ReplyDelete
  5. I used to go horse-back riding all the time when I was younger. Even rode in the Arizona desert once. Always loved it but hard on the rear end!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love horses and this sounds like a great read. My DDs are doing a horseback riding camp this summer. I want them comfortable in the saddle so we can explore by horseback on future vacations!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have rode a horse, but I'm not good at it. :) My uncle raised horses for a lot of years and we'd ride them at family reunions, but I could never control the thing right. I always went in circles. Granted, I was only about 7-8. I did have fun though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. If I was able to pick a speed of horse as a kid, I would have been all over it. What a neat-o idea :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. my daughter is an avid rider. she just loves it. not me. like you, i'm a chicken!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ooooo, I love horses. I haven't ridden in years.

    ReplyDelete
  11. My best friend as a kid had her own horses and we'd ride every weekend taking picnics. So fun. Then I took riding lessons when I lived in Indonesia. But now...I seem to be too busy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Christina, I can't find your blog. Can you leave your url so I can check it out?

      Delete
  12. What a pretty cover and so fun to learn about the author's first pony ride. Amazing to stumble upon the same place (most likely) so many years later. I have ridden horses a couple of times. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow, look at all the comments. Thanks everyone for reading my little story of my first remembered horse ride. And for sharing your first time horsey stories!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have never ridden a horse but I have always wanted to.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Isn't it great that Angelia got a glimpse of her past by chance like that? I was horse crazy when young, took lessons, and owned a horse for a year or two with a girlfriend. But those were tween interests. In high school, boys out-dazzle horses. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello, blog hopping and found your beautiful blog.
    Nice !

    Visit mine too and feel free to write something over there.
    Thanks
    Rajiv
    http://www.magnificentdewdrops.blogspot.com
    http://www.magicalpresent.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. 'Horse Charmer' is an enchanting read I enjoyed tremendously. I've never ridden a horse or pony, though I used to fantasize about it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Fun story! I love "discovering" places I remember from when I was a kid. And I love riding--haven't gone in ages, but used to all the time!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm with you on this one about riding horses. Can't. Too scared.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I've never ridden a horse. My sister-in-law has a pair of them, magnificent animals.

    ReplyDelete

All anonymous comments will be marked as spam and not published.