I’m the most un-sportsminded person in the world, but I do know what the Triple Crown is, and I do watch, when possible, so today I was glued to the set to see the Kentucky Derby run, and –if you tivoed it, spoiler coming!–saw a great come from behind win!  An experienced jockey (but his first KD win!) put his horse in 19th place and then, when the time was right, urged him on to pass every horse but the single one behind him and passed them all, then won by several lengths, and wow, what a finish! 

Don’t we all love that kind of race, and don’t we all love underdogs and stirring last minutes wins!  I’m not that much of a racing fan, per ce, and I don’t bet, but I was the kind of little girl devoted to horses, read all the Black Stallion books, and similar books and series, and always wanted my own horse, but alas, never could fit one in my closet or our garage, as my military family made our frequent moves. 

As an adult, when I lived in Britain, I was able to take riding lessons from an expert to learn to ride with an English saddle, one of my  longtime ambitions.  Tho the lessons didn’t last as long as I wished, I relished every moment.  I try to make my use of horses in my Nicole Byrd historicals as accurate as I can–no mad love making on horseback as they gallop through a forest, for example. 

I did once (in Vision in Blue) lead into a nice love scene after the hero and heroine had, for direst reasons, spend hours on a frantic horseback ride across England–he is a seasoned rider and she is not–and after the ride, he tries to sooth her aches with a warmed oil massage, which leads to, um, some delightful passion.

Lots of nice things begin with horses!