Horse Show Narrative

When I was young I obsessed over horses as do most young girls but, that obsession never changed as I grew older. All the falls, all the heartbreak and stress that it caused made me fall even more in love with it. I have now been riding for twelve of my seventeen years of life and I do not ever

I began horseback riding at age four, and my equestrian pursuits have not only shaped who I am as an individual, but have kept me grounded. Working as a groom to afford riding lessons instilled a work ethic within me that has contributed tremendously to my academic successes. Rescuing a horse at a young age, and caring for him no matter the circumstance, has given me a strong sense of commitment that translates to all avenues of my life. Besides shaping my character, being entirely responsible for my horse throughout college urged me to find a productive balance in my life. Learning to make time for hobbies and other activities outside of academics has greatly improved my overall well-being, and is a lesson that will be invaluable as I pursue

Some people think of them as animals. Some people think of them as objects. Some people think of them as friends. Then there are the few who think of them as family. Horses have always been like family to humans, except sometimes closer. There are many benefits to owning or being around horses. They come in many different colors. There is a multitude of breeds, also. Additionally, they have a long history with humans. Horses have unique behaviors. Showing horses has been the past-time or even career of many people. Furthermore, caring for horses can be a handful, but is definitely rewarding. Finally, riding horses is not just a hobby or a sport, but an action of your heart. Horses are wondrous creatures that have lived with man or

When I was 10 my dreams came true and I got my first horse. Her name was Shesha, she was only a 23 years old, jet black, quarter horse. The first time I let her in the arena to play she ran, bucked and rolled. It was really fun to watch. After she played for quite a while i decided to try and chach her, it didn’t quite work out that way, she ran away from me for quite awhile until I decided to grabbed a carrot and broke it in half with that i found out that she really liked carrots because when she heard that sound she actually came over to me to eat the carrot. Which was so nice to find out.

It was just me, my horse, and the four judges, who were there to critique my every single move. I probably looked like an ant standing alone inside such a large area. My heart was pounding so hard that I could hear it beating in my ears. Thump. Thump. Thump. I tried to block it out in order to concentrate on the task at hand. The announcer calls for 805, which was my show number, and up to the first cone I went. I knew that pattern better than I knew my own name. The arena smelled so fresh and clean. I could see the perfectly straight drag lines from the tractor, since I was the first one to go in my class. This was the moment that I had been waiting my entire life for. While waiting at the first cone, the pattern was soaring through my head. Trot to the first cone and stop, then do a turn to the right. Over and over again I kept repeating it silently to myself. Finally, the judges nodded for me to begin, and I started the best pattern

My mother purchased a saddle for me before I was born. She knew I would be a cowgirl who loved horses, like herself. But what she did not know is that my love of horses would develop into something much greater. My past, present, and future endeavors have all been in pursuance of my goal: to be an equine veterinarian.

There have been too many times to count where a horse has taught me a lesson whether it be in the saddle or on the ground. But there are a few horses that have taught me lessons that I'll never forget. Specifically, there was one mare who was named Molly she is a twenty-year-old Saddlebred that was an ex-park horse. Like most stereotypical mares, Molly was more than just challenging to get around with on the ground and in the saddle. Under saddle as soon as you put your foot in the stirrup and pressed any weight into the stirrup you better be prepared to swing your leg over and ride because she was off at the canter or a trot. There was no such thing as a flat walk, nor did you get to choose the gait you rode, it seemed every second of

I approached the spirited horse with confidence because I was experienced with these types of shows in which all the riders are assigned a random horse to ride. I could sense his tension as soon as I was in the saddle. He furiously pawed the ground and shifted his weight around. Before I knew it, we entered the arena. Almost immediately he began prancing like a deer around the ring, my fear growing with every misstep he took. I desperately looked to my coach for advice, but there was nothing she could do. It was between him and me and he knew he was in control. The spectators lining the outside of the arena fell into an eerie silence each time we passed by. I was masquerading, pretending I had him under control while the situation continued to worsen. In my mind years passed before the judge finally called for all of the riders to line up in the middle of the arena. As we turned to line up, he stopped. I convinced him to take one reluctant step forward before he reared up onto his hind legs. He rose up higher and higher, turning into a skyscraper towering over all others in the arena. Then, everything went quiet. I frantically grabbed for his white mane, trying to maintain my balance, but to no avail. We both fell backwards, all two thousand pounds of his body crushing

I started riding at the age of eight, when my dad took me to the barn in our neighborhood. I had initially just went to pet the horses, but I ended getting to ride; and that is where it all started. Soon after I started taking lessons at a local barn. Four years later I purchased my first pony, Trigger, from my trainer. I worked so hard for the money to buy Trigger, and I was so proud of him. Sadly I was only able to keep Trigger for about a year before I had to sell him back to my trainer. I still continued with lessons and rode when I could, but I didn’t get to purchase my next horse until I was twenty. I purchased Talia in January 2015 and trained her myself. I plan on making her into my competitive jumper and showing her as much as I possibly can.

I have been tossing up two ideas for my main focus. They are, teaching the readers about horses and showing the bond my sister has created with her horse. I am leaning more towards showing the bond, because it is a beautiful thing. I hope to provide readers with a first person look into this experience. I will provide this with dialogue between my sister and I, and through my own interactions with the horses.

In November 2015, I finally walked up to Keeneland for the first time in my life to finally see a live horse race. But it wasn’t just any race – it was the 2015 Breeder’s Cup Championships and American Pharaoh would go on to win the Grand Slam. It was an awesome day, meeting people from all over the country who seemed just as passionate about a sport as I was. It was that experience that led me to move to Lexington, KY two months ago with a desire to work in the Thoroughbred industry.

Welcome to my senior project portfolio. I was to learn about natural horsemanship skills and horse care by Mary Tyler, a volunteer coordinator at Sunrise Horse Rescue, who has dedicated about 11 years of her life to working with horses. It was easy asking Mary to be my mentor because I had volunteered at this rescue twice throughout high school. She would be mentoring me through the “Horsemanship and horse care world” accompanied by the horses that were sanctioned at Sunrise. Mary, having had plenty of horse work experience, took me under her wing and promised to show me as much basic knowledge that I needed to make this project successful.

This year I got over my fear of horses. For my fifteenth birthday my aunt got me four weeks of horseback riding lessons. My lesson horses name was Skyjet. At first I was terrified of the horse and how big it was, but really it was one of the smallest ones there. I learned how to groom the horse on put all the gear on it. I learned how to 5-star which is when you go into a squat forward leaning position and stay like that, I learned how to post which is kind of like doing squats but instead of going down you are going up, also how to get the horse to trot and stop. To trot you say trot on kick the horse's side until it does. To stop you pull the reigns to you and release when they stop.

I knew that I had influenced a whole group of people to love horses the same way I

Ever since I can remember, I have always loved horses. At one point in my life I thought that I would have a career that involved animals, well one animal in particular, horses. I would probably be a horse trainer. So when I got older I was more than happy to find out that I could spend time with them by volunteering. The first time that I volunteered, I was fourteen years old, and I had found a great program that dealt with disabled children called HorseSense. I have always liked to help people, and not to mention, I would be able to be around one of my favorite animals in the world, horses. This was my very first time with any real responsibility, where I would be held accountable for my actions.