As I write this in early November, the end of our season is approaching. The days are getting shorter and we feed our horses earlier now, and even then, it's dark. In some pastures, snow is already falling. In others, the leaves have turned color and are just beginning to fall. We can't ride after work now, and so we start thinking about time off for our horses and ourselves.

There are still a few rides to come -- all the way to the last day of the season. If you set goals at the beginning of the year, there may be a few last rides that you need to complete to achieve them. Your goals could have been starting a new horse this year, placing in the standings, reaching a mileage mark, or just riding more this season.

You think about the experiences you've enjoyed during the past season: the start of rides in the cold dawn -- the dew on the high grass sparkling in the rising sun -- the steam rising from warm horses in the chill air -- the mountains rising out of the distant desert as the sun sets -- the feeling of exuberance your horse has moving out on the trail with others.

You remember your conditioning rides on the beach with the wind blowing in from the sea and feeling your horse's huge trot as he bounds through the shallow waves as the tide comes in.

At the end of the season, you think about what you could have done better during the year, the friends you've made, what you've learned from others, and whether you and your horse are still having fun riding together.

And, finally, you think about the coming season. You'll be a year older and so will your horse. If he's older, you wonder, "How many more years do we have doing this together? Is it time to let him graze in the sun and retire?" Can you find what you like in your present partner in a younger horse, and should you be looking for him now?

You think about goals for the next year. Are they just for you or is your horse going to still enjoy this sport accomplishing them too?

Our sport brings us to beautiful places at times we would not otherwise be. Appreciating this gift is one thing we can look forward to for the next season.

I wish all of you the best for the coming season and for the holidays.