Horse Riders Are Stable People

At the age of three, I begged my mother to let me ride horses. We would pass a horse farm every day and I would squeal from the back seat, “I wanna do that!” When I turned five she took me for my first riding lesson. Ever since then, horses have been a major part of my life.

Traditionally, horse sports are regarded as an activity for the social elite. Horse racing, fox hunting and competition were reserved for those who could afford a horse with decent blood-lines and the appropriate equine accessories. Being an equestrian comes with a stigma- horse riders are extremely wealthy, snobby and spoiled. Granted, some horse riders can conform to this stigma, but not in my personal experiences. Horse care involves responsibility, dedication and perseverance.

I was taught appropriate horse husbandry from the begining of my equestrian career. I wasn’t allowed on a horse until I was able to prepare myself and my ride for a lesson. This is a difficult task for a five-year-old child. Grooming took me nearly thirty minutes and carrying a saddle seemed to be an impossible feat. In the schooling program I was in, the student did all the work- nothing was handed to us.

My extra-curricular activity took up nearly all of my spare time. The school bus dropped me off at the barn after school and I would stay there until dark doing innumerable barn chores. I began competing at the age of six. At that time, it was a fun experience. Every three months my mother and I would wake up early and spend an entire day at the James B. Hunt Horse Complex in Raleigh. Sometimes I would miss school and have to explain to my peers why I was able to miss school. Rationalizing with peers at six years of age is, well, pointless. They correlated my privileges with horse riding without understanding how hard I worked to earn those privileges.

As I got older, my competing became more and more serious. I spent all my time at school, the barn and my house. I had been so used to having the barn as a social life, I devoted little of myself to those outside the barn. To others, I was a snob that spent time with only ‘horse-people’. This misconception made my academic social life almost non-existent. The truth is, I spent every afternoon mucking stalls to make money for horse board. I spent about fifteen hours per week in the saddle, seven of which were lessons. I began teaching beginner lessons at thirteen to make extra money for competitions. At the height of my equestrian career, I was competing three weekends of every month.

By eighteen, I had become jaded with the politics of competition and rejected the idea of competing in a collegiate circuit. Now, I ride for pleasure. I still have my horse- whom I trained from the age of two- at a farm about twenty miles from Wilmington. Monday through Friday I work at the farm where Eli lives. I am responsible for eight horses and their health in exchange for board reduction. I wait tables to supplement other equine expenses because having a horse is not cheap.

All of the sacrifices I make in order to keep my horse are totally worth it. When Eli and I are together, I forget about my insecurities, approaching deadlines and everday stressors of life. I know Eli will always love me and never judge me.