I have loved horses since the day that I knew they existed. When I was 4 years old, I went to my very first horse camp, and from then until I was 8 years old, I rode every horse that I could get my fingers on, from trail rides to horse camps to lessons every other weekend. I then began my endeavor with Arabians, and have been head-over-heels for them since. I rode with Hunters with an Arabian instructor on the weekends from the time that I was 8 until I was 12, and fell in love with a little grey Arabian mare named Cameo. From there, my heart was on fire. When I was 13, I started riding cutting and barrel horses in exchange for excruciating days in the sun of work, just to get my fix, when I was no longer able to take lessons. When I was 14, I went on hiatus from horses for about 6 months. At last, I moved out of my mom’s and in to my dad’s, and he so graciously moved on to a horse farm. From there, he helped me buy a small cremello Quarter Horse mare. I adored her personality, but forever dreamed of having my “perfect” Arabian. I trained her from the ground up to a green walk/trot/canter horse, and only a few months after I sold her, she became the youngest certified therapeutic riding horse at St. Andrew’s college. After I sold her, I bought with my own money a purebred Arabian mare, but she still was not everything that I was looking for in a horse. Our personalities did not mesh, so after a year of trying to make it work with her, I resorted to putting her up for sale. Very soon after, her breeder proposed an offer, and I took it. Only two weeks after she went back “home,” I was utterly blessed by an offer that I could not refuse. This offer lead to my current gelding, SK Hot Shot, aka Tosh, whom I will keep until he becomes my very own guardian angel. Keep in mind, this entire time, I’ve been on my own. I have had a total of 4 horse lessons in the last 6 years. I love Tosh with my entire heart, and could not imagine what life would be like had he not trotted in to my life. After only having him home for a month, I took him to the NC State Fair Horse Show in October of 2011 and showed him at NCAHA’s division of it, in HA/AA Hunter Pleasure ATR, taking home a Champion ribbon. In April of 2012, I brought Tosh, after months of hard work, to NCAHA/ODAHA’s Region 12/Region 15 joint qualifier, and came home with 9 ribbons out of 10 possible, 3 of them beings firsts. I placed in HA/AA Hunter Pleasure JTR, ATR, and AOTS, coming first in AOTS, bringing me tears of joy. My dream is really coming true with Tosh, and to have a partner like him… It is unthinkable.
Let me share the back story. I grew up in a very unstable household. My mom is severely mentally ill, and I essentially grew up on the government. Horses were my therapy on the weekends that I got to go see my dad. Without them, I’m honestly not sure where I’d be. I remember I would pray for it to be over, and I would cry myself to sleep every night. To escape it, I waded through horse magazines, soaking up every piece of information. I would go through tack catalogues and circle everything that I would buy for my one-day horse. I would read over and over how to train a horse, how to ask a horse to do this, how to teach them not to do that. I read language that I didn’t fully understand, but when the opportunity arrived, it became natural.
In the summer of 2011, I acquired a job as a full time nanny and saved every penny, along with learning priceless things from these adorable girls! After that, I paid to bring Tosh home to NC, all the way from Little Rock, AK. I bought every piece of tack, every bit of wormer, and ever dollop of Face Glow to make it all become real. I have continued to work Monday through Friday after school until 5pm as a part time nanny for the same girls. I worked from August 2011 to February 2012 at a restaurant/pub, but that job not being stable enough in pay, I got another job as a waitress working between four and six days a week, alongside my nannying. It’s hard; I will never say that it’s not, but everything being as it is, I have to. I have to have my horse. I have to have him here for me. I will work ‘til the ends of the Earth to ensure that I can continue to have him, love him, show him, and pester the heck out of him.
Truth be told, I’ve never won any awards, aside from Accelerated Reader and Student of the Month in elementary school. I failed the 6th grade due to absences. I’ve never gotten the best grades in school because of everything that goes on at home, but if anyone ever asks me if I’ll give up, the short answer is no. I’ll never stop. I’ll never stop wishing, praying, hoping. I’ll never stop loving, smiling, or giving. I’m not only here for myself, but for every little girl that’s ever had a wish. I’m here for any child that’s ever suffered and ever wished to get out. I’m here to show that with hope, anything is possible, and that giving up isn’t an option. I’m here to touch people’s lives with everything that they thought was never possible. I’ve only been on this earth for 18 years, and I have another 100 to make up for the ###### I went through when I was younger.
Long story short, Arabian horses have made me the person that I am today, and because of them, I will never give up, and neither will anyone that comes in touch with me. It is my goal to make a name for myself in the Arabian industry, be it through a training opportunity, or simply being myself and rising to the top on my wonderful gelding, with no trainer but myself.
I know I'm not the perfect candidate, but it's worth a shot, isn't it?
