Dear Rita,

A few weeks ago I spontaneously held an open training day at my stable in Loxahatchee, Fla. Lendon Gray brought along a group of eager young riders, I opened the seminar to the public, and all in all about 40 people showed up on short notice.

Dear Rita,

If you have ever trained proper reinback as a tool to gain impulsion, you will understand when I say that setbacks in life can be a springboard for progress if you treat them right.

I don’t know how Hotmail found me.

This time last year I was taking down the Christmas tree and trying to keep all the ornaments out of harm’s way. I had a new corgi puppy, Foxy, who kept me entertained at every turn, and life should have been good.

Dear Rita,

I left sunny Florida to spend Thanksgiving weekend with my husband in New Jersey. Greg was on call for his veterinary practice, Running S Equine, so we agreed to spend our holiday visiting friends between equine emergencies. Several poignant reminders of why I should be grateful in this life were presented to me as I traveled through the weekend.

Thanksgiving Day

Dear Rita,

In a country where one learns riding through sweeping, it could be said that those who truly learn riding, have mastered the broom.

Dear Rita,

I arrived in Germany on a full moon in October of 1993, and I am leaving Germany on a full moon in October of 2012. Full circles seem to be a theme in my life, Rita, but this has been one long circle! After a stop at the Global Dressage Forum in Hooge Mierde, the Netherlands, I am flying with my horses to Miami on Oct. 31.

Leaving Vechta is sad and hard. I grew up here (not sure “grew up” is the right term, but I did learn a lot) and became the person I wanted to be. I made good friends, learned a lot about people, and I will miss this place.