There are few things in life I love more than picnicking with my horses. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been drawn to the strength and beauty that horses emanate. I have long loved that I can close my eyes on a horse and suddenly I am transported to another time. Horseback riding for me is a way to feel connected to history and to nature. Even if I could never ride again though, I still would not give up my horses. I can’t even imagine myself without horses!

My greatest goal in life is to see my horses run free out my kitchen window. Someday I hope The Rose Table will be set on a farm of my own – maybe even a vineyard? – and I’ll have dinner party after dinner party set al fresco with my horses in the background. You heard it here first! Until then though, I am satisfied picnicking with them on lazy Sundays.

I have two horses: an American Saddlebred named The Enchanting Heir (Prince for short) and a Friesian named Wendy. I first laid eyes on Prince when I was just twelve years old. It was liebe auf den ersten Blick: love at first sight. I thought he was the most fiery, spirited, brilliant looking horse I had ever seen. In the fourteen years since, I have never fallen off of him. He may be fiery, but he is the most loyal horse a gal could ask for.

I love this picture. You can see “true love” written all over my face when I look at him.

Wendy, who recently modeled for Fort Worth Magazine (proud mom alert!), was also love at first sight. I saw a video of her online floating around the arena to Enya and just knew I had to have her. She looked like an angel. She was just a year old when I bought her. She was so tiny!

Sometimes I forget how young Wendy is (she’s eight) because she has such a calm nature. I’ve always loved that about her. She was not particularly feeling this picnic photo shoot though. She’s from Germany originally and is not a fan of the Texas heat!

I keep my horses at beautiful Black Star Sport Horses, where horses are treated like royalty. I’m so spoiled at Black Star with a state-of-the-art indoor riding arena, huge stalls, and hundreds of acres of wooded trails to explore. The most important thing though is how happy and healthy my horses are!

We made a super Italian lunch: speck wrapped cantaloupe and caprese pasta. These are both quick, easy dishes that let the ingredients shine – the perfect picnic dishes! For the pasta, she boiled noodles until al dente, drained, and tossed with a bit of olive oil, pepper, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and hand torn basil. She sprinkled asiago on top after dishing it up.

I brought red wine and two varieties of fresh cookies I’d baked that morning: oatmeal raisin and oatmeal chocolate chip. Picnics just beg for cookies, don’t they?

And because I couldn’t choose just one of these shots:

    We should all aspire to be as graceful and strong as horses.” – The Rose Table

Happy picnicking,

The Rose Table
@therosetable
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