Secret Santa

Dear Amanda and Tristan,

How is it that the simplest thing can be infused with so much meaning? When I opened your Secret Santa gift, I both squealed in delight and nearly burst into tears. How could you have known that I have coveted a halter nameplate since my early teens? It's mortifying to admit, but I never felt as though I had earned the right to sport such fanciness.

Simply gorgeous. Thank you, Amanda.

It's a simple thing: a halter nameplate. How can it mean so much? As a teenager, I swooned over fancy horses in magazines and always admired those regal names engraved on lovely halters. I've owned many horses myself, some who were quite fancy, but I always felt like a nameplate was something that had to be earned.

Somehow, you managed to find the most perfect gift for me: one that I've always wanted but would never buy for myself. From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you, thank you, thank you.

Sincerely,
Karen

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The day Amanda's gift arrived, I was headed out for a trail ride where my husband was going to meet me with the dog. After he parked, he handed me a package while I was saddling. Somehow, he knew that I'd want to see it right away.

I stashed the package in my trailer's tack compartment and went riding. As soon as I came back, I took care of Speedy and then ripped open the envelope right there in the parking area. I was overwhelmed by what was inside. There is no way that Amanda could have known that her gift would be so meaningful to me.

As soon as I walked into the house, I begged my husband to get out his tools so that he could help me attach the nameplate. He insisted that he be allowed to finish his lunch first, but as soon as he was done, he helped me punch some holes. When he had finished, he told me he was on his way to Home Depot so that he could get some Loctight for me so that the screws wouldn't fall out. I know my husband has no idea what a halter nameplate means to me, but he sensed how important it was to me nonetheless.

Amanda also sent an engraved bridle tag with Izzy's barn name. This touched me just as deeply. She had given me a nameplate with his regal name, just like I had always dreamed of, and a bridle tag with his barn name.

I love how it looks. This is a very special gift.

It was the best gift of the year, and one that I didn't even know I wanted!

Follow Amanda and Tristan, her BLM Mustang, at Bel Joeor: Life + Horses. And lots of thanks to Tracy at Fly on Over for hosting the second annual Blogger Gift Exchange.