I'm back!

We're back from our vacation. We figured out that my fish died while we were gone. So today we were looking for new fish and maybe a new aquarium. But we didn't get that stuff because it looks like it's more complicated than we though. We'll decide what to do by tomorrow.

At the airport I was going to get a magazine, one for little kids like I usually have. But we found a more serious one and I chose that one instead. It was a good idea because I learned a lot more.

Now that I'm back I hope to join a horse club somewhere nearby. My dad is helping me to find one (that isn't too far away). It looks there's one about 3 kilometers from here, which would be good so that I can get there easily. A woman is going to call us back about riding hours.

Today one of my friends called to ask if I want to be her badminton partner. I said yes. And she wants to ride, too, so maybe we'll do that together.

Bye, bye!

My family is going on vacation for two weeks before I start 5th grade in September, so I won't be posting anything for a while.

See you later!
Natalie

Thanks!

One nice, friendly man from Texas has donated $5.00! And my grandma and grandpa in America have contributed, too. I will save it to join the horse club where I live here. Any other donation will go for some riding clothes, which would be more comfortable than my school clothing.

Today in the morning I rode my bike to the fields behind our apartment. I can't see them from our window, and it's kind of far away, but somebody keeps horses uphill from here. When I got there one of the horses galloped to meet me, and made a friendly whinney. When I left, then it followed me along the fence. It was the pretty one that I like. Shiny brown with a lighter brown mane.

Love,
Natalie

Horse camp in the Czech Republic

This summer I went to a week of horse camp in the Czech Republic (my mom is from there). We were learning how to ride and to take care of horses. There were 12 children there. One day I was riding on Boris and he tried to buck me off. He does that to all of the children. But I tried my best to hold on. I held on so hard I got a blister on my finger; it was really painful.

My favorite horse was Connie. She gave me a lot of nose kisses. But the thing I didn't like was when she tried to eat my baseball cap.

There were not only horses there, there were also ponies, which we couldn't ride.

At the end of the week we got our diplomas. I got first place because I was the best rider and the best behaved child.

Here are a couple of pictures, taken by my mom on the last day of camp:



and



Bye!
-- Natalie

Horse magazine today

Today I used part of my allowance to buy a horse magazine, "Pferde; Freunde für's Leben". I got two wonderful posters with it. I also got four collector cards with it, so now I have 39 cards. Each card has a picture on the front, and on the back it gives something to learn about horses. It also came with three colorful pens, which I can use to write in my diary.

Since I can't get a pony yet, today my parents got me two guppies and stuff I needed for a fishbowl.

See you soon!
Natalie

I'm starting my blog

Hi, I'm Natalie and I'm ten years old. I really like horses. I enjoy riding them (when I can). It's my big hobby. And I like to take care of them.

But the problem is that I get to ride them only seven times a year. And that's not enough for me. So I thought to have a pony to ride. But the problem is that it's too expensive. So I have been trying to come up with some ideas to make the money. I plan on doing chores and other tasks to earn some money. And I'm going to sell the toys I no longer use. My allowance I will spend only on magazines so that I can learn more about horses (which means I have to find more serious ones, not the ones for little girls). But all of this won't get me very far soon. The best idea I've had so far is "sponsoring". If you want to sponsor me, then send your PayPal contribution to NatalieWantsAPony@yahoo.com. My dad set this up for me, and he and I will manage it together.

So, what will happen with the money? I will save it (my dad suggests that I post how much has been donated). The first things I will take care of with my and your money is a membership in the horseriding club near here (I live in Germany). After that I will pay for riding hours and some proper clothing. In a couple of years maybe things will be far enough along that I can get that pony! Her name will be Misty.

My dad says that I should give something in return for your contribution. Some of things we have thought of are:

• I can post your name, and a link if you are a company or organization
• I can send all sponsors photos whenever I get some
• Maybe a newsletter?
• Send a thank-you note to everyone who contributes

Please tell me your ideas for what it would take to get contributions /sponsorship.

Later I think I will post the things I'm doing about horses and the progress I'm making.

Love,
Natalie