The sisterhood of the traveling bridle

For my first blog raffle, I printed out the names of all the entrants, cut them up and put them into a bowl.

Then I let each of my kids pick a winner.

They were so little and cute back then!

That was fun, but also, way too much work. For the last decade or so, I've used a random number generator.

One thing that hasn't changed is this: There are always some people I secretly hope will win. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. It's all up to fate... and the random number generator!

my friend, Anne Field, who won a saddle in 2013

In July, Tiffany sent me a box of brand new, real horse bridles.

Two of them fit Olive perfectly.

The third, not so much.

I could have taken it to the local consignment shop and made a little money, but that didn't seem right. Instead, I decided to host a free raffle here on my blog. 

I was surprised by how many people wanted that bridle. As I read through the entries, I found myself thinking again and again, "Oh, I hope she wins!"

That was definitely the case with Dani Boiko. She is a tack maker, who owns a cob sized horse and loves purple. Truly, that bridle was made for her.

Fate had other ideas. The bridle went to Shannon Rodgers, who is a lovely person and longtime friend of the Braymere blog. I was delighted to send it her way.

I sent the bridle to Shannon and forgot about it, at least until a few days ago, when a picture of it turned up on Lynn Isenbarger's blog.

Here's the story: Lynn was attending a Great Lakes Congress show in Huntley, Illinois, when Shannon Rodgers dropped by her table. They got to talking, and Shannon asked if she could leave the bridle there for Dani. Like me, Shannon knew that no one would appreciate that bridle more, so after enjoying it for a little while, she generously gave it away.

Here's Lynn's description of the hand-off.

I honestly love the way this turned out. Thank you, fate random number generator. I couldn't have planned it better myself!