Equestrian Blogger Gift Exchange 2018: And My Secret Santa Is. . .?

If you’ve been part of the equestrian blog world for a while, you might already know that Tracy over at The Printable Pony hosts an annual Equestrian Blogger Gift Exchange. If you’re a blogger and you’ve not yet participated in this blessed event, mark your calendar for next November so that you can join in the gifting joy. You won’t regret it. It’s a way to connect with other bloggers and maybe discover some new, fun blogs to read.

This was not staged.

January second, after a fairly turbulent flight from Chicago (where I’d been holidaying it up with my family) back to Orange County, I was thrilled to be on tierra firma and greeted by a dark, padded envelope on my kitchen island. The font for the return address was so tiny, I couldn’t read it. I didn’t bother to put on my glasses, I just tore in to see who my Santa was and and what she had gifted me.

Santa did not disappoint!

This year’s Santa had some big boots to fill as in previous years I’ve received extremely thoughtful gifts from Bel Joeor, She Moved to Texas, and Amateur at Large.

Well, Hillary from Equestrian at Hart hit a grand slam home run this year! (Thanks, Hillary.)

As you can see from my flat lay photography fail thanks to two photo shoot party crashers, Hillary got me a sweet C4 belt that had a Snaks 5th Avenchew donut with it (a treat for Knight), a cute snaffle bit Christmas ornament, and Mrs. Pasture’s Horse Cookies for Knight (but the dogs are keen on stealing them–Tigger chomped down two already). There was literally something for everyone! Horse, human, and apparently dogs.

I’ve long been a fan of C4 belts since they are fun, fashionable and one size fits all (you can trim the belt down to whatever waist size you have). This one is going to look great with several of my ROOTDs. And hopefully I’ll be in the saddle more in 2019 since Knight has just come out of rehab and I moved him yesterday to a barn where he’ll have 24/7 pasture! Here’s to a healthy horse.

The best part of The Printable Pony’s annual Equestrian Blogger Gift Exchange goes beyond fun packages in the mail from distant states: it’s building community with fellow horse friends, some of whom I’ve yet to meet in person.

Thanks again, Tracy, for hosting, and thank you, Hillary, for a perfect set of gifts. Happy New Year, everyone!

Do you participate in a Secret Santa exchange? If so, were you pleased with Santa’s picks this year? Leave a comment and share.

If you like to hang out on social media, you can find Knight and me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Trot along with us!