I wonder if my grandpa had any idea what impression he was making on a young me by insisting that we fix these horses that meant so much to me. I was sure they were beyond repair until the first one was fixed. Then I knew exactly who to bring all of them to after that—solely to him.
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….”
It’s humbling in the best way for me to look back on the past year. When Phineas arrived, I was certain that I had bought a fun little project that I would help to reach his full potential. What happened was that he came and did the beginning of that work on me instead.
Sometimes horses come into your life after you've searched and searched for exactly what fits your idea of what you want in a next partner. And sometimes that's not the…
