Everyone has those friends that have been in your life for so long that you genuinely cannot think of a time when they weren't in your life. If you're really being honest with yourself, you probably have blocked those memories out because those times, or as I like to call it "The Dark Times", were so boring and so lifeless. It's like right before the sun rises, everything is still dark and sleeping, but there is a tense, waiting quality, and anticipation is palpable. Those of us lucky enough to be involved with horses can all say this about our horse friends. My horse friends are Julia and Allie.

I was in fourth grade, I had just moved to Franklin, TN from Oviedo, FL, I was the new kid, and I had a lot of trouble making friends at my new school. I discovered 4-H through my school after answering (more like shrieking because I was a pretty intense kid), a plethora of horse questions, and the project leader asked me to come try hippology. If I could describe hippology, it would basically be some adults sat down and said, "Ok how can we make kids study and take tests in their free time after school and be really excited for it. I know let's make it about horses.". Yeah, we studied everything we could about horses, from anatomy to history, breeds and colors to genetic diseases, we knew it all. Then we got the distinct pleasure of taking written tests on the weekends about everything we had studied for ribbons and I guess eternal glory? Some of my scores are still on the internet so that's something. We also did horse bowl, which was where you got asked questions about, you guessed it- horses. We had to buzz in to answer and earn points. Nerdiness intensifies. I was a whiz at that because I played a lot of video games (I was known for shouting "Thank you Skyrim!" after particularly close calls; I know, I was a jerk) and had mad reflexes.

This was where I first met Allie, and I was in fifth grade when she first joined up. Remember how I said I was a really intense kid? Yeah, she was TERRIFIED of me, and I don't blame her in the slightest. After we got thrown together because we were two of the strongest scorers in the county, we slowly but surely became friends. We got together to study, competed together, and soon we started showing horses together. Horse shows are a whole other mixed bag. You get ribbons and eternal glory? But you also got blood, sweat, tears, unruly horses, uncomfortable clothing, and SO MANY INJURIES. But despite these trials, sharing in the competitive spirit is what strengthened our friendship to what it is today.

Next was Julia, we didn't meet her until about middle school, and she didn't begin competing in hippology and horse bowl with us until high school, but she fit into our dynamic perfectly. As another horse nerd she was placed on a team with us to compete, we went to Southern Regionals (the entire Southeastern region of the United States) an astonishing three years in a row, and in our senior year we won both hippology and horse bowl at the state level and were given the amazing opportunity to compete at the national level. All of our travels, all of our hard work, the constant Chik-Fil-A study dates, made us inseparable.

We were no longer individuals, we were a trio. The Three Musketeers would have been jealous of us, tbh. Our project leader even frequently used us as an example of how 4-H leads to forever friends, and he was right. I've always heard that if you're friends for more than six years, then you're going to be friends forever. I knew that well before the six year mark but now it's just a fact. I was so lucky to have met these two beautiful girls who support me, uplift me, make me laugh, make me cry and most of all push me to be a better person. When they celebrate, I jump with joy. When they cry, I cry (and maybe I sharpen my knives because no one messes with them but me.) And when they make big decisions I support them no matter what. Thank you 4-H, for blessing me with my two best friends in the whole world, now you just have to help me figure out the logistics of how to have two maids of honor.