There was a time, not so long ago, that I questioned whether or not I wanted to keep doing this horse thing. Things had really not gone according to plan. I wasn’t sure if Chance would ever be able to work again, and I was so busy with school, that having horses felt more like a burden than anything else. I also had watched all of my goals and dreams slowly slip away. Horses were what I wanted to do with my life for so long. I missed horse showing so much. And it all seemed so impossible. I had faced so many setbacks that I felt that maybe it wasn’t worth it.

Then one day, last semester, I just went out and started working them. I was pretty inconsistent for a while, and still struggle with keeping a regular riding schedule. But my passion has returned in full force. Life got in the way for a while, but horses are in my blood. They are a part of who I am, and I do not think that I could ever give them up. At least not without a fight.

Most people wouldn’t understand. Only those who also have horses in their blood would. It’s not something you can just give up on, no matter how much life gets in the way.

“Riding a horse is not a gentle hobby, to be picked up and laid down like a game of Solitaire. It is a grand passion. It seizes a person whole and once it has done so, he will have to accept that his life will be radically changed.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson