Name: Sara Diane Schemm
Birthdate: November 25th, 1983
Height: 5'11"
Sign: Sagittarius
Hometown: Cooperstown, NY
Current Place of Residence: Fly Creek, NY
Marital Status: Engaged to an awesome man!

*waves* Hi, I'm Sara - I was born at Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, NY to John & Diane Schemm. Let me just say that I couldn't have asked for better parents than my own... sometimes I forget how wonderful they truly are! I was spoiled rotten growing up... my younger brother & I both were. We got just about everything we ever asked for. I'm sure if we had more room, I would have gotten a horse early on. I was lucky enough to be part of a 6 week horse camp about a half-hour away from where we lived in Oneonta, NY (Silver Creek Stables). That was my first experience riding a horse & I will never forget it. It also started my passion for Arabian horses.

I rode an absolutely gorgeous 14.3hh gray Quarab mare named, Lace. If I hadn't known any better, she appeared to be a purebred. Lace was just gorgeous & we got along so well. We hit it off from day one. It was like magic to me. Especially when the owner of the camp noticed our connection. She said she had never known Lace to react so lovingly to a person when first meeting them. Every morning when I'd come into the stables, she'd nicker to me. Tracy (the camp owner) just couldn't believe the connection we shared. At the end of the 6 weeks, Tracy offered Lace to me. God, how I cried. I just knew we didn't have the land or the money to own her. It was horrible knowing I'd never get to see her again. That was where my love for horses grew stronger. I knew that I just had to have one. Still to this day I think of Lace & wonder how she is - wonder if she misses me or even remember me if we ever got to see each other again. For those of you who've never had the pleasure of knowing a horse, you can't possibly understand how strong a connection you can have. Some people call me crazy when I tell the story. It's hard to put into words how much Lace meant to me. I'll never forget her. She was truly my first love - we were soul mates, corny as it may seem.

Years passed & I met & fell in love with my fiance, Mike. It was a funny story how we met. We met through mutual friends & I didn't even give him a second glance. We met at his house & ended up going out to a club just as a couple of friends. He was nice, yes... but it wasn't immediate attraction for me. I was in a weird stage of my life. I was still in dream land. Where my dream guy would just come into my life & sweep me off my feet. I wasn't popular in school & therefore had quite low self-esteem. Being close to 6' tall & not flawlessly beautiful I felt like I didn't belong. It wasn't until my senior year when I finally stepped out of my shell a little bit & became a basketball cheerleader - which proved to be an awesome journey. My only regret was having not joined sooner! But still, it seemed to me that boys just didn't notice me. Of course, maybe they did & I just didn't allow myself to get to know anyone. I'd been hurt in the past when I let my guard down & I wasn't about to get hurt again. But anyhoo -- back to Mike. After about 2 weeks of our first meeting each other, our friends decided to meet up again. Now Mike made his move by saying they couldn't come over to his house unless the brought "the red-head." Well, this made me laugh a bit & I came to realize he was quite interested in me. Our friends kept urging me to go on a date with him & I kept saying, "No, he's not my type." Well, needless to say - I soon gave in. I found myself spending more & more time with, Mike, and actually ended up spending the night at his place quite often. The term 'going out' was never really stated, it just seemed to happen. And after about four months of 'dating,' I guess you could say, Mike proposed to me. Now you've all heard awesomely romantic stories about how guys have popped the question to their girlfriends - well, romantic this was not. He basically just handed me the box & said, "Here." I opened it & really didn't know what to say. Was it just a present or was this really him proposing to me? It wasn't until he asked me what I thought that I finally came to terms with things. Now let me just say that this happened on April Fool's Day - how's that for another twist to the story?!

Needless to say, he was indeed proposing to me at that time. I accepted his "proposal," but now I had a heck of a lot on my plate! This was the first real, serious relationship I'd ever been in. Not to mention, Mike had been married before (and he was actually separated from his wife at the time that we were dating) & he had a son, Matthew, from this marriage. For a 21y/o girl with low self-esteem this was a lot to take in. I was still a kid myself & I was going to be a step-mom?! Well, months passed & I became more accustomed to where my life was going. I met his parents & they were interesting, nice people. And for some reason they loved me. Before I realized it a year had passed & all was going well. I was getting used to, Matt, as he was to me. All seemed to be going smoothly (especially after the divorce from his previous wife was finalized). Now we could really start planning on getting married. I still wasn't ready, by any means. This was the one thing that was a real strain on our relationship. He was ready to get married right then & there... and I kept pushing it off. I wanted to be sure about things. Yes, I loved him... but I also love my brother & I'm not about to go & get married to him! I mean, for one thing - getting married is incredibly expensive. Again, I was in my dream life still - wanting a perfect ceremony at the church where my parent's got married. Such a thing takes money & we were straining as it was to pay the bills! After much debate, I finally gave in & agreed that we could get married in front of the Justice of the Peace. Yeah, it isn't a dream wedding, but at least we could have more money to put into the reception. As of now we've set the date - February 14th, 2007. So, let's cross our fingers & hope everything works out for us!

I love Mike for the little things he's done for me. Like buying me a western saddle, because he knew I loved horses so much. It was like he was telling me that soon you will have your horse. Now, his parent's owned horses & ended up giving them to his sister. I was devastated when they left. I swear, I was down there every chance I got to just be around them & enjoy them. Well, one day I told Mike of a farm I really wanted to check out, Hunter Hill Farm. It was a horse farm close by to us & just about weekly, I'd pass by a sign that said, 'Horses For Sale.' I knew that someday I'd own a horse & I figured why not take a look & see what they had to offer?! Now, Mike isn't exactly a horse person... but he knew how much I loved horses & he pretty much said, let's go check it out. So, we headed off to Hunter Hill. We met with the owner & she offered to bring out a few horses that she had for sale. They breed Draft Sporthorses at Hunter Hill - so this was hard for me. Not only do I love Arabians, but I love Draft horses too (quite odd, isn't it?). When we arrived I saw a few gorgeous crosses out grazing in the fields. A sharp-looking grey mare caught my eye & inquired about her, but I was soon shot down when I heard her price - WAY out of my price range! She then brought out a nice, tall 5y/o light-grey Percheron/TB gelding that was named, Austin. She said she brought him out first because of my height - she thought he fit me well. Well, he did, but he was also $5K, which I knew I couldn't afford. And to tell you the truth, he didn't exactly make my heart jump. He wasn't what I was looking for. So, I was loving on him & then she had one of her students bring out, Houston. And, let me tell you, I just about dropped! He was so beautiful, so perfect! He was a 4y/o dark steel grey Percheron/TB. He was a bit shorter at 15.3hh than the first gelding she brought out... but it was love at first sight! She seemed to sense that I was drawn to him & she asked if I wanted to see him being ridden. Of course, I said yes. And so I sat & watched as one of the students took him through his paces. He was just beautiful to watch! At a walk he was slow & steady & at a lope he was so elegant, arching his neck like a pro. As I was watching him she was talking about him, letting me know his sweet personality & then his price was given - $3K. Now at this moment & time I didn't dream I could ever own him. He was just too perfect & being that he was trained, I knew he'd probably be expensive. But then she also said that if I gave her cash, she'd sell him for $2,500. I sighed to myself & told her I'd have to talk things over with my fiance first. Mind you, we went there just to look, not to buy. But I had to have him - it was meant to be! And so I discussed things with, Mike. His first reaction was pretty much, holy crap - we don't have that kind of money. But he must have seen the sparkle in my eyes. He threw out the fact that I could probably get a loan from the bank. And that was it. Over the next few days, I went back to Hunter Hill to ride him. It was heaven. I even got to bring my own saddle to make sure he'd be OK with it. Although they told me had been ridden Western a few times, lately he'd been strictly ridden English. Well, he hadn't forgotten the Western style, he took to it like an old pro. Mind you, I'm not the greatest rider... I haven't had the opportunity to ride all that much not having a horse of my own. He seemed to sense this & was extremely careful with me. Like I said before - it was meant to be. Houston had to be mine! And so as the week passed, I went to the bank & got the loan. I went back to Hunter Hill & gave her the money. She said she'd drop him off that night. I couldn't believe it - I had my first horse! Now because I'm anal about naming my animals, I quickly changed his name to Remington aka "Remmy." For some reason, Houston just didn't click with me. And after much anticipation, she arrived with Remmy at Mike's parents. He was so handsome. After we got him off the trailer & let him loose in the pasture, he looked like a young colt prancing around. He seemed to enjoy his surroundings. I must have sat there & watched him for an hour. Every now & then he'd come up to me & give me green 'kisses' on my cheek - which he still does to this day. It never fails, if I'm in a nice, clean shirt & he has a mouthful of grass, he'll be at my side nuzzling me. I love the big boy & I'm so grateful to Mike for allowing me the chance to own him. It was probably one of the happiest days of my life!

So, now my dream has come true. I currently own three beautiful horses that I love dearly. Each one is unique & has their own quirks. And I have Mike, my wonderful fiance, to thank for all of it. Thank you, honey - I LOVE YOU! If it wasn't for him, my dream would still be just that. It's not everyday your dream becomes reality!!