Ghost is a 13 year old quarter horse who is extremely athletic and has spent time being ridden on trails near LA before he ended up moving North to the Bay Area. Jen is looking forward to taking him out on the trails both around Half Moon Bay and wherever we end up retiring.

Ghost isn't quite as people-obsessed as Jaleo is, but he's 10 years younger and a fun horse to ride. He's already taught Jen a lot!

Jaleo (Jen still calls him Jello) is now literally been put out to pasture! Yes, that is a real thing! :-) Jello is now a far cry from the polished show horse he used to be, but he seems to love his life in the field as a scruffy, muddy, happy horse. He's been retired with another grey gelding from the barn named Baby, who Jen used to ride years ago. The two are now fast friends...this is a rare shot as Baby isn't hovering nearby.

Jello and Baby share a big pasture in Half Moon Bay off 92 near the barn. They get hay three times a day and lots of grass in the winter time!

Jen (and Dave, but mostly Jen) bought a horse on July 13, 2017. He is a 17 hand Andalusian gelding named Jaleo born in Spain in 1997. He was sold to a gentleman in Germany and was later purchased by the lady we got him from and brought to the States about 10 years ago.

In Spanish, Jaleo is a chorus in flamenco that dances and claps in time with the music. Jaleo is trained in dressage, so a dance oriented name is definitely appropriate! When Jaleo moved to the US, the kids at the stable couldn't pronounce his name, so they called him "Jello". His new owner was not overly fond of that, so she called him after one of her favorite horses from her past: "Willi". Jen thinks Jaleo is much more fitting, although Jello is pretty amusing too.

See him in action! Click here for a video of him being lunged.

Jaleo/Jello/Willi's owner (Nancy) didn't really want to part with him, but she is 83 and her doctor has recommended that she no longer ride. It just so happened one day that she and Jen were at the barn on Saturday afternoon, and, when Jen complimented Nancy on her beautiful horse, Nancy offered to give him to Jen. After Jen realized that Nancy was serious and found out the price was right (one dollar for a good home), the rest was equine history. Sadly, horse upkeep, especially in the Bay Area, costs a bit more than a dollar, but it is so worth it to have your own horse! Jen didn't realize how much she'd missed it until she actually signed the papers and realized it was really real.

He needs a bit of exercise before Jen can ride for a full lesson. Much like Jen, he's a bit out of shape and it takes him awhile before his muscles stretch out and he can get to work. Jen lunges him before she rides, which is not a hardship in the least because he's such a beautiful horse!

Jaleo is trained to 4th level Dressage, which is the top end of the Intermediate division. Jen, however, is trained to 0.01 level Dressage, but they seem to get along well anyway. He's a very sweet, even tempered horse, and the fact that he's older is perfect for Jen. She's never going to compete, and Jaleo has mellowed enough that he doesn't react to every touch of Jen's leg the way he would have if he were still competing. Because above all else, riding should be fun!

See him in action! Click here to see a bit of Jen's first ride on Jaleo.

After his bath he is all clean and sparkling. Jen is a little wet and muddy though. And yes, Jen realizes that he was probably dirty again the next morning when he got turned out and rolled. But it was a beautiful day for giving him a bath and neither one of them minded getting wet!

Here he is in his stall with his fly mask on. Willie and his next door neighbor Oliver have a green ball toy they play with, although Oliver is shy and won't play if anyone's looking...