Q and A With the Cowgirl Part 1

A couple days ago I opened myself up to be asked whatever y’all might want to know. So I’m going to answer those now:

From Maureen:

When did you first start riding? Did/do your parents ride and did you always have horses? When did you know horses would be “your life?”

Maureen- for a brief intro, if you haven’t read it already you could go here.

Here are the specifics though: My family never had horses growing up.  I did not start really riding until I was 11 as I didn’t own a horse until then. Horse crazy little girl that begged and begged and begged for a horse from about the time I was 4 until I finally got one, might be a good description.  That said, Daddy was born and raised a Kansas farm boy (they had a turkey farm and raised soy beans); my mother grew up the daughter of two teachers.  Both grew up gardening; daddy also raised chickens, pigs, a milk cow and a steer or two (even to show).  So he understands and gets the rural lifestyle and agriculture. My parents still do not ride.

From where did this insane passion come? If you were to ask my mother she’d blame it on Rusty.  Who is Rusty you ask? Rusty was my rocking horse when I was little.  He was one of the kind that were on springs.  Somewhere there is a photo of me on him which I will try to find. When I was young I had terrible ear infections. Rusty was my comfort. I’d wake up in the middle of the night, and rock on him to help my ears/head not hurt so much.  Mama says it’s all his fault because he was my comfort.  I loved that horse and if memory serves me correctly I cried when I had to give him up because he was worn out and I had outgrown him.

I don’t know that there was a specific time in my life that it clicked that horses could be or would my life, however I have one very specific memory that screams at me whenever anyone asks me this question. Don’t get me wrong- I never considered NOT owning a horse after I got my first one.

In college I was given the chance to work for a trainer. My first husband and I had actually sent him a horse to ride, and he wanted me to come to ride the horse so he could teach/show me what he had taught the horse so I could continue the horse’s progress.   I had a great day.  I razzed the trainer about the poorly groomed condition of his horses- albeit he was a cowboy, one who did a lot of day-work (which is another post altogether) and so grooming wasn’t a particularly practical use of one’s time.  A couple days later he called me and said that he had been thoroughly impressed with my hands and my timing and my grasp of what he’d taught the horse and would I come groom horses and clean for him in exchange for him teaching me what he knew? I couldn’t say “yes” fast enough!  Until that time it had never occurred to me that I was actually talented enough to train horses and make a living doing it.

Upon graduation he offered me a job in his barn, riding for him, and he said he’d get me 3-4 outside horses of my own each month so I could make enough to make ends meet. Mother was adamantly opposed to that idea since I’d just spent 6 and 1/2 years getting a college degree.  I complied with her wishes, and got a real job; and a divorce (that was my idea).  My “real” job found me working as an assistant to a financial advisor. I made his stock trades, did his paperwork, scheduled all his appointments, met with over-flow clients, and all the marketing for the firm.  While I did this, I had also started giving lessons and training a few horses for people. It got to a point where I had to choose. And it was a no-brainer.  I’m pretty sure that my mother still thinks I don’t have a “real” job but I don’t care anymore. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.

In training horses and giving lessons I’ve learned that it’s not always about the horse; it’s about the people that own the horse and you have to be just as much trainer for the horse as therapist for the owners. Tact and kid gloves come in really handy when telling someone that their horse isn’t going to do what they want it to do regardless of how much training they pour into it. I also feel like my life experiences help in developing relationships with people as I have clients that confide in me, clients that are now my friends and clients that would move heaven and earth if they could to have me back in Texas. My business experience makes running the business easier, and my marketing degree helps from the networking/consumer awareness standpoint.

I don’t recall if you were reading last winter or not, but I went a little stir crazy when I was unable to ride. I truly believe that it was my calling in life; the reason God made me the way He did.

This got really long-winded so I’m going to write another post with questions from Heather.  In the meantime, if you missed the open forum, go ahead, jump in and ask away! I’d love to know what you want to know about me!