This winter, while I clenched my horse’s freezing metal bit between my thighs to warm it up for her, I made a promise. I lifted my eyes skyward and telepathically swore to equestrian higher power Beezie Madden that I would neither whine nor wail about the heat and humidity this year if she would only hasten the arrival of warm weather and make the riding gods bring back summer.
The cool weather is a welcome break here in Texas, but four weeks into the season, the bloom is off the rose. It’s dark at 4 p.m., everything is dry, everything is dusty, and I yearn for green grass, turnout, and the end of dragon-longeing season.