It’s not a phase we grow out of, it’s a lifestyle we choose to be in. It’s an expensive one but if you ask anyone, they wouldn’t trade it for anything. We put our blood, sweat and tears into our work and it shows.
We get up at the crack of dawn and drag ourselves out of bed to drove to the barn and feed the beasts that most of the time have a mind of their own yet we still love them to pieces. We clean stalls all day long jut to make sure our animals are getting the best care and have the best places to sleep at night. Some might say their horses live a better life than themselves!
We fight 1200 pound animals every day and most of the time we leave even more frustrated than when we first started. We spend day after day trying the same thing in hopes that our horses understand what we are trying to ask them to do and to keep doing it every time we ask. We spend hundreds of dollars to keep them just for our entertainment. We spend money to bring them to shows and ride them to be judged. But the showcase of talent and natural horsemanship is what we are really after, not just the ribbons. Although ribbons are nice to get.
Why do we do it? We do it for the pure joy and happiness it brings us. We do it to see our accomplishments and see our hard work and dedication. Although we faced many struggles to get to the point at which we are at. We spend countless hours working with our horses, watching videos and constantly trying to improve ourselves.
We meet people who have so much knowledge and help us grow as an equestrian and are given opportunities of a lifetime to help increase our knowledge. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the trainers, barn friends, barn owners and other horse owners and their knowledge and input. They are the ones who push you too be better and know your potential better than you.
We do it for the love of the sport and the love for the animals the constantly put up with us and our crazy antics. And we do anything to keep our prized possessions in the best care.
We want to be the people little girls look up too and who see why we do what we do to make our horses happy and spend so much to do so. And we all look up to the Olympic riders and strive to become them one day as they are idols to so many in the industry.
