I'm sure you've met a girl once in your lifetime that rode horses for fun or competitively. You might think all she thinks and talks about is horses, but that is just the typical stereotype our society has generated over the years. I mean, we all fall for that expectation of a said stereotype. Yes, we may go to the barn nearly every day for long hours, but we do it for the passion that we have for the sport we dedicate our lives to every day.

The stereotype:

You, more than likely, base your assumptions off the popular stereotype: crazy horse girl. I mean, being an equestrian (horse rider), we do get the vibe that other people think we're crazy horse girls about horses and do nonstop talking about how pretty or gorgeous they are all the time.

People think we have tons of horse posters covering every inch of our bedroom walls, but that is somewhat true and somewhat untrue. We may have a poster of a rider from the Olympics and then the majority of our walls are piled with our horse show ribbons on them.

People also think what we do is so easy, when really it's not. Below is an Auburn football player trying out the equestrian sport. Hey, he wore a helmet at least! Safety first. In reference to the easy part, it's really not. It's just like any other sport, however, we have 1,200 pounds of animal beneath us that has a mind of its own.

The Reality:

In reality, yes we do talk about horses. And why shouldn't we? We do love them after all! But instead of how some people would think it would be, obsessing over how pretty they are, we talk about horses and the sport in a more logical way. We like to talk about the latest feed, stall bedding preferences, and always new training techniques. The reason we talk so much about those areas is because we want to train to be the best we can and to also keep our horses in tip top shape. Hell, we can say as many technical terms about what we were doing in our practice just as much as you could say about the football game that was just on television.

We are pretty darn bada**, though. Have you ever handled or ridden a 1,200-pound animal? Our sport is just like any sport, except it's a mashup of elements from other sports like the picture states above, such as hockey, ballet, and golf. We use the strength and stamina of a hockey player, knowledge of distance of a golfer, and the ability of a ballerina to make something look easy and elegant.

We speak the language of our horses that no book could explain. It's a language that is silent where we communicate through body language and emotion. A language that is not spoken or written to understand.

However, there are a few interesting things about equestrians. For instance, I've noticed from my past babysitting clients that they hire me because of the responsibility I have for taking care of horses. Horses are literally giant babies to us. Pretty much any job with childcare or animals will most likely hire you for the job.

Our horses are our children. You never ever want to underestimate our love for them -- that'll just put you on our bad side.

Being an equestrian is more than a sport, it's a lifestyle that we choose. No amount of stereotypes could depict how important it is to us. We are really dedicated to our lifestyle.

Side note. When it comes to dating, boyfriends beware: you may be her boyfriend, but her horse will most likely come first in her life. Try to embrace her lifestyle to see why she's so passionate about it.