Personal

Every rider has a saddle story. Mine starts with an English saddle, and honestly, it never really wandered far from there. People ask me all the time which I prefer — English or Western — and I am always happy to tell them. But I want to say up front: this is just my opinion….

There is a particular kind of light in the Central Valley in the late afternoon — the kind that turns everything gold and makes the dust hang in the air like glitter. That is the light I love best, because that is when Amir looks like he was poured straight out of a painting. My…