Deborah Stacey

I was a horse crazy girl growing up. I read every horse book I could find, watched every horse movie and TV show I came across, made jumps and tack for my dog and when it was time to draw - I drew horses.

A friend and I had our own 'horse school'. We had a blackboard and would teach each other about horses and give tests. As for real live horses, I was lucky if my parents rented a horse for a trail ride now and then.

Once out of high school I began pursuing my passion. I took riding lessons and a few months later my riding instructor asked if I was interested in a job. A woman she knew had a hobby farm outside of Montreal, Quebec and needed a groom/stablehand.

The day I arrived she sent me into the tack room to clean tack for a show we were going to the next day. I didn't know how. Fortunately there were instructions on the back of the saddle soap can.

I went on to graduate with an Honours Degree in Horsemanship at Humber College and continued to work several more years in the equine industry. Then, life took me in a different direction.

I became a mother, worked with a volunteer women's organization writing and editing the quarterly magazine and enjoyed raising my children. As it turned out, my daughter was horse crazy too.

One day while helping with her math homework, I could see that the question could easily be changed to reference the world of horses and the idea for Horse Lover's Math was born. I tried to interest a publisher at the time but without success and had to put the idea aside. But I never forgot.

A stint as an online researcher taught me a great deal about the internet and computers. In 2011 I was at a crossroads, if I was ever going to bring Horse Lover's Math to life, the time had arrived.

Now I assist in math classes at my local elementary school and work on Horse Lover's Math each day. The website is up and running and garnering interest. The Level 1 workbook is due out this spring.

Today, I'm the one producing material to feed the passion of horse crazy kids. In a way I've got my own 'horse school' again, just like all those years ago.