“So” said the Lorse to the child “Are you ready to enter this world? You will need the courage of a Lion, the strengt of  a horse and above all, the kind of imagination only given to the very young.”
“I’m ready” the girl answered and took a deep breath.
“So be it, here we go!” said the Lorse and jumped.

Photoshop CS2+ mouse+ wacom graphire 4 tablet about 30 hours.
Reference used for the lions’ head and the girls face. I also looked at many pictures of medieval saddle equipment and horses in general.