Hoof-Beats and Holidays

Everyone has a different opinion to the question what is really valuable in these modern ages? I believe the answer will always be changing from person to person and from time to time. To me personally there are two types of values. There are values that you can put a price tag on and thing that there could be no price high enough to compare it to. I understand that something that may be priceless to me may not be to the next person. To me a priceless object could not be sold for anything or any amount in the world. Something that has financial worth and is valuable to me is something I could put a price on.

I wake up early so I can be the first one to move the cat on the Santa countdown calendar. The Santa has been long gone for many years and now it’s the stuffed cat that gets silently moved to the next pocket with that special number moving us one day closer to that great day! As there begins to be a cool chill in the air the excitement builds within me. The days will soon be getting shorter and the nights falling upon us earlier. When will the first ghostly white blanket fall is a mystery. But when it does come you will know it from the second you get up because the faint smell of cleanness still lingers in the air. As the countdown gets closer my family and I all pick a certain date.

On that date we all bundle up in the warmest things we can find and head out to the Christmas tree farm In search of that perfect tree. It can’t be too tall but not too short but now it can’t be too round. But after what might feel like an eternity of inspecting each one searching for any imperfections we finally spot it. The perfect tree!! When the tree has been decorated, the shopping has been done.

The desserts baked and the gifts wrapped. It is finally the day we have been waiting for. It’s the time we set aside the arguing and the disagreements. It is a day of being together and enjoying each others company. And what a great day it is. And after the gifts have been opened and the food is all gone it is just me and my family sitting around listening to the soft crackle of the wood stove and the carols playing in the background, Then a as if it has always been there a soft blanket of snow falls silently outside our window. This moment is truly priceless.

I walk towards the open field in front of me. I let out a soft whistle and a whinny came back in reply then the soft thud of hoofs in the grass. He rounds the corner and canters towards the gate. I greet him with a hello then we proceed out the gate. As we walk together he towers over me he is a big chestnut Quarter Horse and Morgan mix and he is truly beautiful. He is known as All Fired Up in the show ring but to me he is simply known as Champion or Champ for short.

We saddle up and head swiftly towards the indoor ring. We get started with a soft and steady trot. Once we get into a rhythm he picks up his speed and the walls become a blur rushing beside us. His hooves pound into the ground and his nostrils flair as we approach the jump. There is a split second of nervousness but then his legs move swiftly up and over the jump we are soaring and the feeling changes to excitement. I don’t have to be riding to enjoy being with him. It could be just him and I sitting there silently together with Champ eating grass and me just watching him do it oh so gracefully. They say there is two different relationships people have with horse either verbal where people bond by talking to their horses, or silent, when you bond by just understanding each other without actually talking. Champ and I have a silent bond. Even though I sadly could put a price on my horse and he is very valuable I would never actually accepting the offer.
Even though a horse and Christmas are two very different things to me they do have some similarities! The main one is of course the fact that they are both very valuable to me for different reasons. They both mean different things to me but they are also very different. For starters a horse is an animal and Christmas is obviously not. Both of my objects are very valuable to me even though they may be different!
The answer to the question what is valuable today is a very diverse one. To me my horse has great financial worth to me and is very valuable. Even though I love my horse to death nothing could ever replace the memories of holidays with my family which makes them truly priceless. So your answer may be different to the question but mine is very simple hoof-beats and holidays.