Growing up, I was lucky enough to live on a farm. I was surrounded by animals such as dogs, cats, and even horses. It couldn't be helped that I eventually got into horseback riding. As a child, I loved every second of it. I, of course, started out on ponies before moving onto real horses. It was one of my favorite activities and never failed to make me smile.
Sadly, at the age of nine, I had to move off the farm. My horses were given away while I went to live in Indianapolis. This moment broke my heart. I slowly got over it. Eventually, the joy of horseback riding faded from my memory and I went on with my life.
About a year ago, I started thinking about horseback riding again. I wanted to give it a try again, just to see if it still held the same joy. I tried to convince friends to go with me on a trail ride, but most of them didn't seem to thrilled to try it.
Flash forward to a month ago, I was walking through Ball State's activity fair. I spotted a Ball State Western Equestrian Club. It caught my attention and I ended up going to the call out meeting. Sure enough, I'm now a member.
At the end of August, I had my first lesson. I hadn't felt that much joy run through my body for awhile. I missed the feeling of being up on a horse. I'm still a little rusty with my skills, but it's still been great. I loved just being around the horses. I couldn't keep the smile off my face.
The team is a competing team, so it's possible I will be able to compete by being apart of the team. That's both a thing making me nervous, but I'm also looking forward to it. It'll be interesting to see where this club takes me. I'm counting down until my next lesson and the first competition. It honestly felt like a piece of me had returned when I got back up on that horse after so many years.