Every Christmas since I was a little girl I dreamed Santa would bring me a horse.

Even as an adult I glanced into the back yard Christmas morning hoping my husband, who is known in my book as being generous and wonderfully over the top, would figure out how to give me a horse.

And if you read my blogs from this year, you will know that I went to a colt sale in Arizona where my husband was sure I bought a colt. (I did not, althought I wanted to.)

That said, I knew it was impossible, impractical and not something my husband would ever really do…not really in my realm of possibilities with all the other responsibilities we have.

For whatever cosmic reason, at the end of November,  my dad decided to give me his horse Bayito…

You might say, wow, why does your dad have a horse? If you read my blog, you will know that he is a third generation rancher and farmer. Since we sold the ranch 15 or so years ago, his horse has lived on a neighboring ranch where he was used by a friendly cowboy to round-up cattle.

It might be one of those serendipitous events or some kind of chain reaction that I can’t explain. Or maybe it was this blog and writing about it!

(And also, it was my friend Audrey who decided to get a horse for her kids).

My dad is  friends with Audrey’s dad who is also a rancher, here in California and suddenly, there was a place for the horse and two families to ride him. And my dad trusts them with his horse, probably more than he trusts me with his horse.

So one cold day in December, my horse arrived from Arizona. The horse hauler picked him up on the ranch near Douglas, Arizona where my dad was waiting to say goodbye.

It was sort of bittersweet, I’m sure, to let go of the one thing left of our ranch and our cattle raising days. Bayito did not want to leave. After an hour of trying to get him in the trailer, with ropes and apples and other encouragments, he heaved a sigh and walked in to begin the journey to his new life here in California.

Here is “Bayito,” loosely translated, I think that means Brownie in English. His registered American Quarter Horse name is Tru Tru Holey Sox!

I am very happy and my only New Year’s resolution is to take care of and ride Bayito!

So if you are dreaming of owning a horse, it can happen one day, even in an unexpected way. Keep dreaming and maybe one day your dream will come true.

Happy New Year!

Thanks, Dad!