The Short Version:
I am a 20something rerider currently living in the Northeast.
The Long Version:
I am a 20something rerider currently living in the Northeast.
Haha nah, just kidding. I am orginally from Ca – specifically the ‘Bay Area’and have only lived over here on the east coast for about three years. I work a sedentary office job, and live with two roommates.
I started riding at age seven on a QH schoolie named Sanity. I suppose you could say I wanted to be like my cousin who is a year and a half older than me. She was very into horses as was my sister, so what did I want to do? Um, be like them, duh.
I grew up riding at a small barn. By small I mean two horses and two mules. A couple of dogs. Throw in a chicken. That’s about it and I loved it! One of the great things about riding at a place like this is that I got a ton of individualized attention. I got to ride an appendix QH with no whoa and learned the value of voice commands very quickly. “Easy” became a very popular word in my vocabulary. I showed locally as a preteen doing wtc eq and pleasure classes and then moving up to the 2ft hunters. After a couple of years (it might have been less) my instructor started to let me ride ‘her’ horse, Homey. Ahh Homey. My love. My heart horse. He was a 8-9 year old OTTB. Beautiful bay, two hind white socks, a blaze. A lovely, lovely personality. Again, no whoa. We learned SO much from each other. He and Pepsi, the Appendix, and Karen, my instructor, literally taught me everything I know about riding and horses in general. They molded me into a soft-handed yet firm and focused rider. By the time I hit 15-16 years old, Homey and I were competing at 2’6 hunters.
After that comes the ‘break’. Break = boys. Yes. I was one of them. My ‘break’ lasted about eight years and the result was three failed relationships and a divorce.I will say that I don’t necessarily regret this break.
Being a rerider now, I feel that I am even more focused, even more dedicated and commited to riding and horses. It’s a great feeling. That foundation of riding I aquired throughout my preteen/teen years will always be with me and the focus, competitiveness, soft-handedness etc have carried into adulthood. As I ‘relearn’ everything I once knew, my hopes and aspirations get even bigger, better, and more realistic, I feel, than before. I am excited to not only challenge myself daily but achieve and perfect each challenge I face.
Being a rerider now, I feel that I am even more focused, even more dedicated and commited to riding and horses. It’s a great feeling. That foundation of riding I aquired throughout my preteen/teen years will always be with me and the focus, competitiveness, soft-handedness etc have carried into adulthood. As I ‘relearn’ everything I once knew, my hopes and aspirations get even bigger, better, and more realistic, I feel, than before. I am excited to not only challenge myself daily but achieve and perfect each challenge I face.
notice white troxel from 10+ yrs ago. |
Wow I feel like this is way too long and probably a little emo. If you stuck through and read this entire thing, I congratulate you. You get the Champion Sash.
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