Dear Boyfriend,

You are the sweetest, kindest, most caring human being I have ever met. You give me your all everyday all day. You will drop what your doing to come to my rescue and I don't know if your know how much that means to me. You love me with or without make up, with or without money, and with or without a good attitude. Not only do you love me on my best days, worst days, and everything in between, but you even love me on horse show days....

The first day you met me it was a little deceiving, I mean how were you supposed to know I was one of the "crazy horse girls", I looked so innocent standing in the corner of a party talking to my girlfriends, giggling over which guy to talk too. Well lucky you, you are the chosen one.

The first date I talked your ear off about my mares, geldings, new show pad, and fitted pants. And at the end of my spiel you had a look on your face like, 'what the hell did I just get myself into'. But yet you came back for more.

The dates to follow were just the same as the first, whereas you talked about family, I talked about an upcoming show, or the need to clean tack...but you came back for more.

So now here we are down the road, you've experienced the horse life.

Not only have you accepted me, but you have accepted my 'child' and everything that comes with it. Overtime you have learned how to put on a halter, how to saddle a horse (and how to do it quickly when there is a tack change), and learned how important fly spray is for a showmanship class.

You have spent countless hours with me the night before a show watching me bathe, clip and band my horse, and even helped! Those tasks are boring to me...I can't imagine how boring it is for you??

The endless amount of blisters on your feet for standing all day at a show, sprinting back to the barn to grab my back number, and reminding me to untuck my pants before halter!

You make sure I have water and food in my system, mainly because dealing with a hangry girlfriend on a 90 degree day is not fun. You also make sure my 'child' has water. You offer to carry the bucket to the spicket, and clean the bucket more in one day then I do in a week. You check that we have hay for the show and provide the pocket knife to cut the twine. You have grown a soft spot for my 'child; because instead of saying 'it' she becomes a pet and she now gets called by her name. And after a long day of show, when all i want to do is sit I can find you mucking stalls (because we know she will lay down), and giving OUR 'child' a treat. Which you have also learned to lay your hand flat, and not to feed her oats like you would a dog. How does that finger feel by the way?

You have become my biggest supporter and my number one fan and even sometimes more hard on me then my trainer! "Sit up", "Heels down", "Judge is lookin", some lingo you have picked up along the way to help me succeed, because for some reason seeing me grin with a big blue ribbon in my hand has become more important than fishing with your buddies on a Saturday afternoon.

Throughout the day I probably get grouchy and you handle it like a pro. I mean when she picks up the wrong lead right after we spent an hour on fixing her headset and I'm about ready to quit, you speak you words of wisdom and in no time I'm back at it again.

Not only do you support me physically but operationally! Uh oh truck broke down...you offer yours. Uh oh short ten bucks...you hand me twenty. Uh oh can't get the old rust bucket trailer to close its door...you grease the hinges. When I feel like I'm falling apart and will never make that nine o'clock start time, you brush, hoof black and pepi her. You will never know how much of a weight you take off my shoulders by simply wiping down my boots, and blowing me an air kiss before my class.

With you by my side I can conquer the world!

Not only have you fallen in love with me, but also the passion and drive I have for my sport. An don't lie I know you love the 'child' too. I mean its proven when I fall asleep in a lawn chair and I wake up to picture like this on my phone...

You are my whole world, and you have become hers too. I mean its pretty said when I'm the owner and she comes up to you when we approach her stall. You have shown her just as much love as you have me and for that I am forever grateful! There has been people in her life, in and out, and you have made a lasting impression on her. She follows you wherever you go, just like I do. She takes care of you, just like I do. And she adores you, just like I do. The greatest feeling a horse girl can have is when her boyfriend and horse horse get along, and get along well.

You have embraced my world and made it a part of yours! Trail riding with the boyfriend has always been a dream little horse girls have and sometimes is more important than the wedding day! For you to walk into my life a non horse man and to chose to stay and even chose to ride with me makes me the luckiest girl in the world!

Thank you for understanding this crazy lifestyle and making it a little less hectic. Thank you for photoshoots, and video taking during my class. Thank you for adopting my 'child' and bragging about our successes. You truly have become a great equestrian and I admire your skills of doing it "on the fly"! My favorite photos will always be the three of us together, happy, smiling, traveling, winning, and living life to the fullest!

So here's my gratitude all wrapped up in a letter addressed specifically to the man who once was not a horse guy. In fact I think the first time she decided not to get into the trailer you told me "the factory is right down the street, she'd make a nice glue stick".... I now can brag to all my non-relationship horse friends about how great you are to me. They swoon over your attendance at shows and dream for what we have. Don't lie, you know you love ever minute of it, especially when you just "drop by the barn" after work just to make sure she's okay.

So, Dear Horse embracing, horse loving, horse riding boyfriend thank you.