Quest for a horse and a kingdom

“A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!”
That Shakespearian quote from King Richard III has been running through my mind quite a bit these past few years and more so recently. No, I am not prepared to give up all that I have for a horse. I am, however, interested in horse ownership.
It’s my daughter’s fault. Heather, who is pushing 17, has been enamored with the beasts since she was 4. At first it was enough to let her ride the ponies at fairs and festivals. As she got older she started taking riding lessons.
Three and a half years ago we moved from Colorado to Amarillo. That was horse heaven. We made many friends with people who owned horses. Heather’s best friend, Cheyenne Wyly, is just like her. Horses are at the center of their worlds.
During Heather’s summer visits with me (she lives with her mother out of state), she would spend a lot of time working with horses, reading horse books and magazines, drawing pictures of horses and studying them on the Internet. She would go on day-long horseback trips with a group led by G.A. Gossett. She once went on a week-long trek with Gossett’s group.
Regrettably, Heather has not had any opportunities to ride since we moved down here. We have not yet been able to connect with horse owners as easily as we did in Amarillo. I hope that will change soon.
Heather’s passion for the animals is addictive. As the owner of the Lone Ranger Fan Club, I have found myself wishing I had a big, white horse to ride.
I really wish I had one during the Watermelon Festival parade. That was a long way to walk and I had a lot of people asking me where my horse was. They also wanted to know where Tonto was. I just told them I was looking for them and asked if they found an Indian with a big, white horse to let me know.
Horses have also played a big role in the book series that I have just finished listening to on CD. I’ve gotten into the “Left Behind” series and just this last week finished “Glorious Appearing” which ushers in the return of Jesus to Earth. One thing I’ve noticed while listening to the books is the use of horses.
The biblical book of Revelation has horses throughout it. The plagues of the end times are delivered by horsemen. Jesus returns riding on a white horse and his army behind him is also mounted on white horses. That, to me, means there are horses in heaven. Heather got really excited when I told her that.
Out of curiosity, I looked up “horse” in the Bible and found that it appears 175 times. That is more times than “lion” appears and almost as many times as “lamb.” Both animals are used to describe Jesus.
I guess it is logical that if there are horses in the life after this that we should know how to care for them in the here and now. These and other creatures obviously have importance to God and thus ought to have importance to us. They are not creatures to be worshiped, but respected.
I now find my family in an interesting spot. We are within a year or so of being able to buy a home again. When that happens, we want to get a place with enough land to have horses. With me working in Hempstead and Sandy in Richmond, we are hoping to find something centrally located.
Of course, that means we are looking for both land and livestock. Ideally, I would love to get a white horse and a paint, in keeping with the Lone Ranger theme. But anything safe for children to ride would be our first priority.
If anyone has good suggestions on either the real estate or equestrian fronts, please feel free to contact me at jsouthern@hcnonline.com.
Looking back, I guess I should not be thinking about giving up my kingdom for a horse, but rather about obtaining a horse for my kingdom. Actually, a horse and kingdom would be kind of nice.