So this is the new year... // OPEN CALL FOR GUEST BLOGGERS

Usually by this time of year, I have posted a year in review on the blog - wrote about last year's resolutions and the ones I have for the coming year, but my friends, I find myself with a lack of words right now.

I would love to make some horsey resolutions this year but I find myself, for the first time, uncertain of where and when my time with my horse will come. I've moved into the city now and am still looking for a place for Bronwyn. I go home at least once a week, typically, but the weather is not always conducive for a ride. I do at least get a snuggle, so that certainly helps. I'm not saying that when I lived on the farm I rode every day or even really took as much advantage of the situation as I should have, but it is foreign to me not to have the option to run out to the barn, 100 feet from the house, and have some one-on-one pony time if I wanted to! So I would say that my one goal for the year of 2012 is to find a place to bring Bronwyn so I can see her on a more regular basis. And that is really all I feel that I can, solidly, focus on at this time.

With that said, I want to talk a little about the future of the blog. I love writing it and I love the community that I have found as a result of writing the blog. When I began writing it, I knew that - if I garnered any readers at all - people would either love it or hate it and there would be nothing in between. The response of love and support has been, to say the least, overwhelming. Emails, Facebook contacts, the like - from plus sized riders who said that they needed to hear what I had to say, or were encouraged to start riding again by what I had written, to non-plus sized riders who support the cause. I have been humbled, I have been encouraged and inspired by what has come in. There has been some negative - don't get me wrong - and the negative has been ugly - never a logical, reasonable discussion, but insults. But the good has outweighed the bad a million times. A million times.

I never thought I was the only one "qualified" to write this blog. In fact, most often, I don't think I am "qualified" to write this blog at all! This, combined with the fact that I don't know where and when my horse related updates are going to come from in the future, makes me want to make this more YOUR blog than mine. I want to share you marvelous ladies (and men!) with the world, in hopes of encouraging others. I had overwhelming response when I asked for proof for my Fat Rider Myth #1: Fat People Should Only Ride Drafts (Or: Choosing A Suitable Mount) entry.

So this is a call for guest bloggers, since I can't guarantee what my own writing schedule will be like. I want to include your stories, your advise, your successes, your struggles - I want to share YOU with others like YOU that can appreciate what you have gone through and what you have to say. If you want to write about your experience as a plus sized rider showing, prejudices you have faced and how you have overcome them, your favourite brand of riding clothing, no matter - if it is relevant to you, as a plus sized rider, it is relevant to us. If you are interested, please email me @ amanda@afatgirlafathorse.com.

Further to this, I know there have been issues in the past when emailing the above address. Due to issues surrounding access of my webmail, there have been, regretfully, some emails that I have not been able to reply to. Those issues, however, have been resolved as of today - so I will be working hard to address every email sent to me! Bring it on!