Hillbrooke Stables

Great day at the horse show yesterday!!

Trailriding Tuesday with my granddaughter! 💕

“Mintse 384”... this is the sire of my friesian “Ziva Gabrielle”!

Such a great experience to be around these gentle giants …up close and personal!! I even got to assist with the harnessing and hitching up for the wedding! They truly are so calm and gentle!

I had the pleasure of keeping these 2 black beauties this weekend for a beautiful wedding today!

Riding in Your 60s, 70s… and Beyond

There is a particular look people give you when you tell them you still ride. It’s subtle, but it’s there. A slight tilt of the head. A small pause before they answer. “Oh… that’s wonderful,” they say, with that careful tone people use when they’re trying to be encouraging but also quietly calculating your age. Wonderful. As if riding past sixty is some charming hobby like knitting or watercolor, rather than the deeply physical, deeply emotional, occasionally humbling pursuit it has always been.

Let me tell you something honestly. You are not too old to ride. You are simply too wise to ride the way you did at twenty-five. And that is not a limitation — it is an evolution.

When I was younger, falling off was practically part of the curriculum. You bounced. You brushed the dirt off. You got back on before anyone could form an opinion. Your body forgave you in ways you didn’t even notice. In your thirties, you might evaluate the dirt before remounting. In your forties, you checked alignment. By your fifties, you checked your insurance. And somewhere in your sixties, you realize that falling off is no longer a casual inconvenience; it’s a negotiation with gravity that carries consequences.

That awareness changes how you ride — and, quite frankly, it makes you better.

In your twenties, you ride to prove something. You want to prove you’re brave, talented, competitive, and capable. There’s an edge to it. A drive. In your sixties and seventies, that edge softens into something far more powerful: intention. You no longer need to win arguments with your horse. You want to understand them. You don’t need to demonstrate toughness. You want harmony. That shift from proving to partnering is subtle, but READ ON - On the Ranch With LInda https://members.happyhorsehappylife.com/posts/on-the-ranch-with-linda-riding-in-your-60s-70s…-and-beyond

We are so blessed to have the Winter Classic here on the Mississippi Coast!! Don’t miss it!!

It’s Wednesday…
Happy Hump Day you absolute winter warriors. 🐪❄️

TWO WEEKS until the meteorological start of spring.

Two. Weeks.

Which basically means we are now emotionally allowed to start romanticising slightly lighter evenings while still defrosting water buckets like Victorian peasants.

We have nearly made it.

We have survived:
– sideways rain
– mud that has claimed at least one welly per yard
– rugs on, rugs off, rugs on, rugs off (the cardio alone…)
– that one horse who is feral because “it’s windy”
– and the daily game of “is that mould or just character building?”

Somewhere deep in the fields the cobs are already moulting in protest.
The thoroughbreds are still offended by air temperature below 12°.
And we are here… layering up like we’re about to summit Everest just to fill a haynet.

But listen.

The light is stretching. The birds are getting chatty. The fields might one day not resemble chocolate mousse.

We have nearly done it. We have wintered. We have bonded over sacred hay and emotional damage.

Two more weeks, team.....and then March winds and April showers.....but just lighter....🙏🏽🤣🤣🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

Hold the line. Hydrate. Moisturise your hands. And remember .... every muddy Wednesday is one step closer to spring chaos. 🌱🐴