I knew the time was coming, Indy was getting older and deserved to finally retire from the show ring. But what was I going to do? I couldn’t afford my own horse, there weren’t any horses advanced enough for me to ride, let alone learn anything from. Then there was Willow. Willow was a gorgeous, 13 year old mare with a dark, polished coat and statuesque figure; but she had a few “minor” corks. She was a phenomenal show jumper who had hundreds of thousands of dollars in winnings and ribbons; the only problem was, she was picky about who rode her. She went up for sale as riders came to see her, ride her and then they were either thrown or bucked off. During her sale period, she had gotten into a gruesome accident while eventing in Ocala, Florida.
I watched as the flashes of orange lights from cars raced past me through the city, and knew there were no signs of any possibilities that there would be a place to keep a horse. I lived in northern Virginia near Washington D.C., where the city was filled with gigantic, tall office buildings with gray and gloomy windows. I could smell the gasoline and smoke coming from the cars’ exhaust. I felt the cool breeze as cars whipped past me, and the air tasted like millions of littered cigarettes on the side of the road. However, there were some horse stables, but they were far away, and the payment required for horseback riding lessons was a ridiculously large price. Of course, that never stopped me from continuously asking
Life handed me lemons, but I could not make lemonade. May of 2016 I decided to go with a Black Angus heifer who was not people friendly. This heifer was beyond ready to kill me or one of my siblings. Once we realized she was too crazy, we took her back and went the complete opposite direction. I was so excited to bring home eight hundred pound Princess Belle the Charolais heifer. Within a few short days Belle was walking on a halter, cleaning up eight pounds twice a day,
I remember as a little kid and now being fascinated by race horses. When I was around eight years old, my grandfather took me to a farm where they raise race horses. They were out exercising Mine That Bird and a few other horses. I thought it was so fascinating! The owner walked up to and asked if I enjoy watching them, I said very shyly,” yes sir.” He took me to the barn and let me look at all the foals and I was astonished. I got to thinking what all do they have to do to get these young foals ready to one day race? I asked Mr. Allen, and he said, “there are many things that you can do but some people don’t do the right thing and they cheat their way to victory”.
Charmayne James was a shy girl that grew up in small town of Clayton, New Mexico. Beginning her way to being the Million Dollar Cowgirl she is today at the age of 3 riding from sun up to sun down. She started rodeo at a young age on a horse named Bardo. When Charmayne needed her next horse she looked to a young bay gelding that was used in her fathers feed lot. This bay gelding became Charmayne’s once in a life time horse. The pair was entered in the Rodeo Hall of Fame, and hold the record for most consecutive qualifications into the NFR for men or women.
There are many characters I have read about and watched in movies whom I do not like. However, the one character who stands out as the one I have the most trouble with is, Mother Gothel from the movie “Tangled.” Mother Gothel is the antagonist of this movie who kidnaps a newborn Rapunzel in the middle of the night because her hair has the magical qualities of a flower which used to keep Mother Gothel young. Rapunzel inherited these powers by her mother drinking the flower mashed into a liquid while she was pregnant with Rapunzel. To add onto kidnapping Rapunzel, Mother Gothel also masquerades as Rapunzel’s mother for her whole life after kidnapping her. She pretends to care for Rapunzel, but is really only keeping her for her powers. Mother Gothel’s character represents several things which make it hard for me to empathize with her; she is completely self-centered, she is also manipulative and demeaning towards Rapunzel, she plays the victim in several different circumstances, and she is a bully. However, I believe there are ways I can empathize with this woman, and I believe empathizing could have a healing effect on Mother Gothel. Additionally, my biblical worldview does have some positive impact on the empathy and care I can offer this woman.
In the space of two years, Kristine Hewlett was thrown from her mare, Cher and broker her back both times. The accidents occurred while Hewlett was at her riding lesson on her mare, Cher when the horse suddenly spooked. After having such bad luck with her horse and both of her injuries Hewlett still vows to ride again. “She said, ‘I have thought long and hard about my future but I love horses and I want to carry on taking lessons.’”(Evans) Kristine Hewlett is so passionate about her love for horses that even after suffering not one but two broken back injuries she still vows to ride again. “But despite her second scare she has vowed to carry on riding.”(Evans) For most people one broken back would be enough to stop them from living their dreams but not Kristine Hewlett. Hewlett’s second broken back injury has made her even more determined to get back on and be successful. “Kristine Hewlett was flung from nine-year-old mare Cher in November and suffered a spinal fracture but she has vowed to ride again.”(Evans) Kristine Hewlett is very confident in her own ability to have a solid recovery and get back on. Though Kristine Hewlett has had her fair share of injustice she has overcome this injustice through passion, determination, and
The clip clop of hooves echoed through the desert. Fear pulsed through my veins. The horse was massive, weighing in at over two tons and easily buck me off where I could easily be trampled be the others behind me. I quickly cleared my head of that idea. Starting to get accustomed to the relatively straight and flat trail I began to loosen up.The trail began at first being primarily flat, but then came the ditch. This ditch had taken me by surprise as my fear was just beginning to truly diminish. As the ditch was mainly soft sand my horse had no traction and quickly sped down the hill. What comes down must come up. As my horse slowly climbed the steep embankment I began to saddle ever closer to being bucked off. Thankfully, I never fell off, barely. The trail was mainly flat with few sharp turns after that. Now that it was smooth again and that I started to get comfortable with my horse I had my first opportunity to take in the view. It was no Grand Canyon, but it was exceptional enough for me. Natures reign became more apparent as we progressed down the trail and an abundance of wildlife came to view. I was about to be taken by surprise again. After about ten minutes of smooth riding we reached a gait. The guide told me to go through the gate and the others would follow. Now it was only me and Quiggly, no one to help if anything went awry. I took it slow and steady and thankfully he followed suit. After
After a few weeks I returned to horseback riding; after a year I returned to redeem myself at the same show. As fate would have it, I drew the same horse from the previous year. Flashbacks of the accident raced through my mind as my coach broke the bad news. I immediately ran to Claire, tears welling up in my eyes.
Julie Goodnight was raised on a horse farm in Orlando, Florida, where she was raised riding horses. In her youth, she started taking riding lessons in English riding and started to pursue hunter jumping. She started competing in hunter jumping shows. She began training at competitive facilities to get the training need to start riding in more elite hunter jumping competitions. During her college years in New Mexico, Goodnight got a job exercising Thoroughbreds on a nearby racetrack. After college, she got a job in Colorado, where she was a trail guide in the Rocky Mountains. While in Colorado, she worked at an Arabian training farm, then started to form her own training facility and camp. Through these experiences, she gained experience in many different disciplines such as: cutting, jumping, racing, colt-starting, dressage, reining, and wilderness riding (juliegoodnight.com). Goodnight has commented many times that she believes this is what gives her an advantage in the training industry (YouTube).
The Quarter Horse and the Thoroughbred have been in existence since the seventeenth century and are perhaps the most well-known horse breeds of the twentieth century. These spectacular horses are used to compete in sporting events and have tremendous abilities. They are prey animals that routinely weigh over one thousand pounds, have similar colors, and are made for riding. Both are routinely more than fifteen hands in height and are measured from the ground at their front legs with one hand equaling four inches. Reaching speeds in excess of forty miles per hour, they can easily jump heights of five feet. Each has won North American and world championships, earning themselves fame and their owner’s fortune for their accomplishments. Although these animals can be similar in size and appearance, there are differences in their abilities and personalities.
Going into it I was honestly a little nervous because I have never ridden anything before this. I thought that it was going to be harder than it actually turned out to be because my mom told me about her personal experience because she fell off multiple times. Even with all of this information I was still really excited to try something new from what I was used to doing.
When Amy Kelley’s barrel-racing Quarter Horse, The Special Stuff, went down in his Minnesota pasture, she thought the worst about the gelding. “First I noticed him standing parked out and looking very uncomfortable. The next thing I knew, he dropped to the ground. He did not lay down, he fell down. He hit the ground so hard, I thought he had a heart attack,” she recalls.
One terribly chilly night Daisy’s father went outside to check on the horse. This was his daily routine. He would refill the water, stock the food and brush the horse's mane. When he was around the horse, he always felt a sense of safety and warmth, but tonight things were different. He came upon the barn and he saw her. She was laying on the ground stiff. She was
Becoming an equestrian is difficult in itself, but it is especially difficult following in your sister’s footsteps. As a young girl, I remember watching my sister ride and I admired the way she was
The ideal time to ride came rolling around at approximately six o’clock, when a chilly breeze picked up. Unprepared and starting to shiver, my older sister notified us that she was going to grab her coat from the house. She left my younger sister and I to deal with the horses which was easy, or so we thought that it was. Assuming that it was going to be an effortless task, I took my attention gradually away from the horses, and commenced a conversation with my sister. Totally forgetting about what I was supposed to be doing, I did not perceive that Dexter spooked and pulled back on the board that he was attached to. Turning around and seeing him rear up on his hind feet, shocked me and I froze. My mind went blank for a second, and when it came back, Dexter was darting so rapidly you would assume a bear was chasing him. I could see the fear in his eyes. He was terrified of the post he was dragging behind him. Not knowing what to do, I immediately yelled at the top of my lungs for my older sister. Never in my life has my heart beated so fast. Freaking out, panicking, stressing out, I attempted to grab Dexter’s lead rope, but him being a thoroughbred caused an issue. He was too quick for me to even get near him. I knew I had to something to calm him down, I didn’t want him to get hurt. This horse means the world to my sister, and I want to slow him down