Last November I got engaged. Shortly after, we planned on getting married in the newly completed indoor arena at our farm this fall. You know the wedding I am talking about: Everyone from your old horse trainer to the hay guy to your Aunt’s neighbor are invited. Your invitations say Dress Code: Equestrian-Chic-Black-Tie-Daytime-Casual (think of wearing a cocktail dress you can climb a fence in paired with barn clogs). Then it hit me in January that I don’t want a huge wedding and I certainly do not want to be hauling hay bales for seats – I have enough of that on a normal day. Instead, I did what most equestrian brides probably consider doing during a moment of stress: scheduled a small wedding in the city (far away from the needy animals, spring mud and house chores) in April (pre-show season). I didn’t even blink an eye at the fact that it would only give us 2.5 months of real planning time. If I can take 10 horses to a show, braid 5 in one morning and still show up on time to my dressage test in clean white breeches, this will be a piece of cake, I thought. Not so true. Unless the piece of cake you are talking about comes from a 4-tiered, fondant-covered, white chocolate mousse-filled tower of nightmares. I discovered that while I know how to manage horses and have been to countless horse shows, ?I am not the world’s expert on wedding planning. Luckily, years in the horse world have taught me to delegate to those with specific skills, make lists and check them twice, and take time away from planning before I end up on one of those reality shows about brides gone crazy. So, on that note – I am going to stop talking about weddings and go to my riding lesson … yes, a lesson where I am the student. Wish me luck! I hope I learn a lot (and maybe tone my arms a bit more for the big day!).