Horse Shows: Pondering the “Why”

Horse Shows: Pondering the “Why”

November 14, 2024Posted inAdult Amateur Rider, Dreamalot Farm, dressage, dressage pony, encouragment, horse farm, horse shows, horses, journey, lessons, life lessons, Pony
Sometimes, I get ready for a horse show and am stressed just riding at Training Level in dressage. And I think, 'Why in the world do we even do this…?' I can enjoy the training journey with my pony without this extra component of being judged. I can get feedback without riding in front of everyone else and without having someone at the venue asking, “Who is riding this adorable pony that you’re leading?” and me saying, “It’s me…” and them saying, “Oh isn’t that so nice….”
The Path to a Pup Named Raylan

The Path to a Pup Named Raylan

August 6, 2023Posted inAustralian Shepherd, dog, Dreamalot Farm, encouragment, farm, Grief, life lessons, puppy, Raylan Givens8 Comments
Our family really likes the dynamic of having three dogs. It feels like the house is right when there is a pack on the farm, and so when the time was right we thought of how to go about adding a new dog to our lives. Never once as a replacement, because you just can’t do that, as many of us well know. But as a new normal. One thing that was of utmost importance was that this was our 3-year-old son’s first time adding a dog to his life.
The Dog With My Name

The Dog With My Name

April 28, 2023Posted ina note from the past, dog, dog business, encouragement, encouragment, family, grandpa, lessons, life lessons, small business, small business owner
I wrote this first as a social media post in March of 2018, and then it was published shortly after in our local newspaper. A friend had read it and said we should submit it for a features section, so that was a fun place to have it shared. Now 5 years later the framed article hangs in the office of my dog-centric business. I wrote this post a little more than a month before my husband and I opened our dog boutique and grooming business together. I was excited, but as many small business owners experience at the start, I was anxious and a bit worried, hoping that it would be successful. We had invested a lot of ourselves into this venture, and it meant a lot to us. On May 3rd we will celebrate 5 years of being open. It's been a wonderful and blessed 5 years and we are so grateful for all that we have learned and experienced. As we look forward to the future with that gratitude and hopeful anticipation, I can't help but share this little nudge of encouragement that I received right before we opened. I don't think there was any coincidence to it...