I really lucked out when my family moved in 1999 because our new neighbor was a horse trainer. I began taking lessons at the age of 5 with her. Soon I was showing in 4-H, then I moved up to AQHA & WAHSET in high school. Since then, I’ve ridden & shown nearly a hundred horses and while I of course loved every one of them, there are a select few that are incredibly special to me. Read about them below...
Blondie 2005 - 2008
Blondie was one of my first horses that was actually "mine". At 5 years old when I started riding with my trainer, Denise, who was also very conveniently our neighbor, I started out with ponies... oh the ponies I rode- but mostly the ponies I tried to ride but was on the ground more than on their backs! Then I moved up to the lesson horses that everyone rode. They were awesome horses that I loved but they weren't "mine". A few years after I rode several different lesson horses and ponies, Denise bought Blondie.
Blondie was purchased with me in mind; Denise specifically chose her for me to ride and show her which made me feel so special. I was about 10 when I started riding Blondie. I showed her in 4-H and we did so well together, I always wanted to show her at Quarter Horse shows but she was injured when she was younger and never fully recovered her hind end... not to mention she really didn't have the bloodlines or training to move like a horse should at a breed show even if she weren't previously injured- but I was too young to understand that at the time.
I remember playing games with Blondie when no one else was in the arena at home, we'd play "tag" (basically me running as fast as I can with her chasing me!), "soccer" (with those big bouncy balls, I'd be riding her and make her jog or lope right into the ball kicking it to my sister who was on her horse waiting for the ball to get to her side of the arena), and other crazy things kids do like standing up and balancing on her back while she stands there like an angel.
Blondie taught me so many things, from general skills like having something to be responsible for and something to take care of... to learning how to take a loss and be a good sport while competing. She also taught me trust. Trust is such a huge, huge part of owning a horse and handling them in any way. But she's a mare so she also taught me respect: when she had her foal, I went out to the pasture to try to pet him... she grabbed me by the arm with her teeth and threw me to the ground (I'm not exaggerating, it was intense!). After that I quickly realized that while I may be important to her, her natural instincts to protect her foal will easily and without a doubt override that. Respect is key.
I can still remember the exact moment Denise told me she was going to list Blondie for sale. She told me it was time for an upgrade, and while I knew that, I did not want to accept it. Eventually Blondie was sold to a little girl in Spokane. A few years later she unfortunately coliced and passed away. She had such a good life, taught me and I know a few other girls a lot, and will forever be my favorite horse ever.
Crystal 2010 - 2012
Crystal is so incredibly special to me because she took me the farthest and she has the best personality a horse could have. I believe I started riding Crystal in 2010, possibly even 2009! Denise bought her for her daughter, Cortney, but they didn't really get along that well so I happily took her over. I've always loved grey horses, especially since when I showed they were so uncommon! I showed Crystal in both AQHA shows and WAHSET. WAHSET didn't last that long for me and Crystal, it was kind of just something that kept us busy during the cold winter months and I was able to spend more time with my horse friends. Showing Crystal at the AQHA shows was most important to us. We truly did so well together, winning multiple all-around and circuit awards at every show we went to.
We showed in the all-around, so we did everything. Even halter, when we knew we were getting last place no matter what (sorry Crystal). We loved doing showmanship together and hunt seat eq. Those were probably our two favorite and best classes. Crystal was also amazing at trail, I always thought it was so cool to go into the open classes with her and we'd win first under all the judges when we were showing against trainers. For the year of 2012, we showed almost every single weekend that summer and fall. Shows all over Washington, some in Montana, and we ended the year with the Novice Championships in Vegas. We won reserve champion in showmanship at that show and I still consider that one of my proudest moments. All of our hard work from that year and a couple prior paid off.
Crystal taught me independence, perseverance, and built my confidence.
With Crystal I learned to be more independent of my mom and Denise. Since I wanted to go to all the shows I did in 2012, I had to find a way to do that on my own. One of my friends, Jeannie, had an extra spot in her trailer and an extra spot in her truck. It was perfect! I'd travel with Jeannie to all of the shows and be able to earn the points I needed to make it to the Novice Championships in October. There was only one problem: my mom wasn't able to make it to 90% of the shows, and Denise was there, but I didn't stall with her. The two people who I heavily depended on were not there to help me... which ended up turning out to be for the absolute best. It not only helped me learn how to be independent but it built my confidence immensely because I was doing all that almost on my own but still winning classes, circuits, and all-arounds. Of course there were some tough times where I really, really wanted my mom to help me with something at a show or Crystal and I just had a horrible class and I didn't know if I could pull ourselves together before the next class, but we persevered. We kept on going, and we did it by ourselves.
After our big win (well, reserve win... it was big for us!) in October at Vegas, I decided I was done riding horses for a while. I needed a break. So Crystal went back into Denise's program and was eventually sold.
Crystal is now owned by Hannah Iwerson in Idaho. I get to see her every once in a while when they go to shows in Washington. Hannah and her family are the perfect people for Crystal, they love her and I know she'll have a place with them for forever. I'm so happy Denise found the best home for the best horse.
Gracie 2007 - present
Gracie has been around for as long as I can remember. I believe she actually was owned by Denise just a couple years after I started riding with her! Denise bought her as a 2 year old, trained her for a while, showed her for a bit, had her daughter show her for a while. Then sold her. She came back a few years later... and that's when I started riding her & fell in love with the big red girl.
Gracie is a do-everything horse. At the state QH shows, she won western pleasure, showmanship, horsemanship, trail, halter, everything! But she's also ran sponsor flags with me at rodeos, gone on countless trail rides, worked cows, done gaming events, she's hung out with the goats, cows, and chickens on my family's farm... She's a true all-arounder.
Gracie's been around since before Blondie and Crystal, and the rest of the 100's of horses I've ridden. I showed her at quarter horse shows before we ever sold Blondie, I showed her in WAHSET before Crystal... and she's still here after Blondie passed away and Crystal moved to a new home in a different state. With Gracie, I made so many new friends, went on a million adventures, and learned so much about myself. I've learned to trust other people taking care of her, whether it's my sister (who does a great job), a lessor, or a friend who's back in town from college who wants to jump on a horse. She may be retired but she's still loved and will have a home with us until she's ready to go in her old age.
These three horses are so special to me, they made me who I am, and I want them to live on in my work today. I've named my 3 different collections for my equestrian portrait sessions after them. These three (and, of course the rest of the amazing horses I had the privilege to ride and show) are always in the back of my mind at every session, making it so easy for me to capture the true bond between you and your horse.
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