Sometimes you meet people who instantly become good friends. Funny how that happens. In my case, I value the traits of being articulate and funny, which are attributes that few people seem to have. Sometimes one meets such people when traveling, and as I have learned, the odds of ever seeing or even talking with them are virtually nil. Virtually.
Last summer, when Pete and I were in Laramie, Wyoming, Pete and I stayed at the Blair-Wallace Recreation area for nearly two weeks. Unbeknownst to us at the time, this was where the Happy Jack Endurance Trail was to be held.

Ronnie at the finish of the I Know You Rider Ride

We put our horses in the Backcountry Horsemen of Wyoming corral prior to the three day event. The second night we were there someone put a large flea-bitten gray horse in the adjacent wooden structure.

The person who did this turned out to be Rhonda Eden. And the horse was Kip. We introduced ourselves to one another and became good friends. Turns out, she was a very serious endurance rider – in fact, she had recently finished up there in the Big Horn 100 Endurance trail ride. We later met up at the I Know you Rider Endurance ride, and there also had a wonderful time.

I didn’t hear from Ronnie after we parted company, even though I’d emailed her. Then, out of the blue, the other day I got both a phone message and an email from her.

We talked this morning for a long, long time, mainly about her most recent endurance ride accomplishments. This year Ronnie’s done three 100 mile endurance events and placed well in them all. As she told me, after, Kip has been his usual energetic self. She also recently moved from Wyoming to Nevada, and is now living in a Quonset hut that she said “I’ll be cleaning up for the rest of my life.”

Ronnie is also still doing art (she’s the one who designed the “I Know you Ryder” Tee shirts), and most recently has started a blog about her “arrogant” horse. She takes credit for her and Kip’s collective accomplishment, saying that “I’m just the monkey on his back.”

So I have a place to hang in Nevada if this comes to be. As I told Ronnie, it would be just a hop, skip, and a jump from Washington (where the centered riding instructor training would be held) to Nevada.

Once again, I feel as though I’m holding the innumerable pieces of a jig saw puzzle – and I’m waiting for someone to give me the board. Then, and only then, will everything fall into place. Indeed, time will tell, but right now she isn’t talking.

Next: 279. 10/19/14: Horsepital