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When I was 12 years old, I connected with a neighbor who turned out to be a very influential friend and mentor. I was fortunate to have this amazing horse(wo)man help me sort out countless problems with my first horse.

Gypsy was a 14 hand step-up from my pony, and at 10 years old was “green broke” and had more issues than you could count.

I didn’t have a set of wheels (truck and trailer) back then but with my mentor’s help, I was able to prepare my mare to show at the county fair, AND hitch a ride to get there.

But we didn’t just enter the speed events – she encouraged me to learn about AND enter. every. single. class.

Even though I didn’t LOVE the idea of showing at halter especially, because I trusted her insights (and just plain LOVED horses), I did it ALL – and I did learn a ton. Read more