I have been lucky enough to have multiple incredible horses over the past 11 years. Each horse I’ve ever ridden has taught me something, but these few have made the greatest impacts.

Jose Gaspar

My first pony, who started it all. I started riding him when he was 5 and I was 10. I leased him a few years later and eventually bought him, and he and I got through a lot of childhood milestones together. A rough time in middle school, moving schools, my first experience of loss when my grandpa died, and moving towards teenage years + all that came with it. These are a few things he taught me.

Humility- seeing myself as someone who needed to earn it.

Patience- some days it just wasn’t going to happen, and that’s ok. You try again tomorrow.

Dedication- for us to be our best, I was at the barn every single day taking care of him.

Love- caring for something more than I ever thought was possible.

Annarilla

Lia was the mare who changed it all for me. She was simply a badass. I was terrified and she quite literally just told me to hold on tight because she was doing it even if I wasn’t. She was the first mare I’ve ever had that I could genuinely feel that she wanted to win. The feeling of cantering up to a jump on this horse was unmatched. I’ve still never felt anything like it. I would do anything to jump her again. She wasn’t like other horses and she didn’t look like other horses, but she was unbeatable if I just let her do her thing. And she was absolutely beautiful with the most expressive, star of the show attitude. These are a few of the many things Lia taught me.

Courage- Knowing I was capable of things even when I was afraid.

Tenacity- To keep trying, even after failing. Lia walked out of the barn every day with a clean slate so that I could try again and be better.

Accomplishment- My first major feelings of ‘Holy shit, I did it’… And lived to tell the story!

Delano de Darko (Tubby)

I genuinely believe this horse came to me by fate. After a summer of trying horses, almost getting scammed on a horse that was falsely represented, and being discouraged as ever, we were stabled across from Tubby at Southeast Medal Finals and met his trainer who gave us her number. We didn’t know her at all and were skeptical because of all that we went through looking for a horse so far. I followed his results and a few weeks later we did go try him and I was in love instantly. He was not at all what we were looking for. He was showing in the 1.30 and I was looking for a meter jumper, but this trainer emphasized how good of a heart he had and it really showed. The first time I rode him I felt more confident than I had in a very long time, and he came home soon after. I had him for a year and conquered several accomplishments and goals. These are a couple things Tubby taught me:

Ambition- I loved the adrenaline of riding to win on this horse. He met me halfway and pretty much just required me to hold on and steer, and always kept me safe. I slowly learned to be truly competitive and challenge myself with Tubby.

Joy- Tubby brought the joy back into riding for me. I realized that being afraid is what was taking the fun out of it, and that the whole point really is to have fun. I let loose with Tubby and realized it isn’t about how big I jump or how much I win. I just loved to feel like I did a good job with my horse.

Fadalka – Zeldenrust

My wonder mare! I knew Fadalka for a long time via her past owner, and it was a long running joke that I wanted her so bad and would steal her if I had to. We tried to lease her years earlier, but she didn’t become available until 2022 and I never looked back. She wasn’t easy to learn to ride but I was determined to prove to myself that this would be my mare and we would be amazing together. I yearned for her for so long and never thought about whether I could even ride her or not. Going on 4 years together, I am so glad I trusted my gut with this horse and ended up with her. This mare still teaches me things every single day but these are a few things i’ve learned so far:

Intuition- I ended up with this wonderful horse by listening to my intuition, and i’ve used it along our entire journey. She requires a listener and someone to understand the way she is. I don’t know how else to explain it.

Flexibility- It is Fadalka’s way or the highway, but she always always always pulls through. To me this isn’t a negative thing at all and it actually offsets my tendencies to want to control everything.

Pride- Every day I feel so lucky to call her mine. She is well loved by others, especially her other mom Sophia who half leases her. Seeing her do well with another hardworking young horsewoman makes me so proud.

I could list 10000 other things she’s taught me but nobody has time for that!