Sky High Farm

11/18/2025

https://www.facebook.com/100064751136775/posts/1290340569800969/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

I don't see dressage as just a sport.
Though it's also not only an art.

It is a combat of character.

A battlefield where the enemy is our own impatience, our pride, our need to control what was only ever offered as a gift.

We take up no swords, yet we train like warriors. Spines straight as flags in the wind, legs steady as shields, hands quiet as assassins.

Our horses are not trophies.

They are keepers of an ancient power, descendants of the ones who carried gods and generals, and they do not bend for those who have not bowed to humility first.

We ride to break nothing except the parts of ourselves that refuse to listen.
We ride to conquer nothing except the distance between two species learning trust without a spoken word.

Let the world watch for beauty.
Let judges tally the points.
But we know the truth:

Some victories are too raw for podiums.

Victory is the moment your horse gives you his back, his body, his belief, and you are strong enough to deserve it.

We circle and circle, not because we are lost, but because pilgrims walk in circles
around things that are sacred.

This is not a sport.
This is not an art.
This is a vow paid for in mud, tears, and the truth.

To ride with honor, to train without force, to lead without breaking, to demand nothing we do not first embody.

If horses must carry humans,
then humans must become
worthy of the weight.

05/14/2025

In this article, the third in my series on the future of the horse industry (click to read financial planning and business management strategies), let’s tackle boarding. This is an issue that should be of interest to almost all of us. Even if you are not a professional, you probably need boarding ...

05/11/2025

💕

Dressage is not a sport of spectators.
It’s a discipline of solitude.

You can be surrounded by trainers, riders, judges, and still, you're alone.
Alone with your thoughts.
Alone with your horse.
Alone with every choice you've ever made in the saddle.

Most people quit dressage because they expect progress to feel like applause.
But here, progress feels like stillness.
Like tension giving way.
Like a breath you didn’t realize you were holding… finally let go.

The horse doesn’t care who’s watching.
And eventually, neither do you.

04/27/2025

♥️

04/25/2025

♥️

My Favorite Affirmations
When I'm riding, I'm living my best life.
I have what it takes to be a great rider.
I am successful because I persevere and never give up.
I am exactly where I am supposed to be in my dressage journey.
What I learned today in my lesson improves my tomorrow.
Every time I ride, I get fitter and stronger.
My relationship with my horse is what matters most.
It takes as long as it takes to succeed in dressage.

04/23/2025

It’s hard not to be romantic about dressage.

It’s a language with no words. Just breath, balance, and belief.
It’s the quiet conversation between two beings who have nothing in common… except everything that matters.
It’s a rider spending a decade learning to ask a question with less effort, and a horse learning to listen to silence.

You watch a good ride, and something happens.
Time slows down.
The world disappears.
And the arena becomes a cathedral, where silence speaks and movement prays.

Not because it’s perfect. But because it’s honest.
Because both horse and rider showed up, fully present, fully vulnerable, and tried to make something beautiful in a world that too often rewards speed over patience.

That’s the romance.
Not the ribbons. Not the scores.
The attempt.
The quiet.
The unity.
The glimpse of harmony that reminds us what’s possible when ego gets out of the way.

To me, that will always be romantic, because dressage isn't about movement. It’s about meaning.

04/04/2025

I miss my Danny every day. But i’m so grateful that she was mine and I was hers. 🥰And that I have our magical Tino to help carry me through this journey.🐴 I thank God for blessing me with being able to take good care of them and helping make my dreams come true 🙏🏻

❤️ There will come a time...When you ride them for the last time.
When you buy their feed and cringe at the price, not knowing it’s the last bag you’ll ever buy.

When you scrub the dirt from beneath your nails, their hair from your clothes...unaware that soon, you’ll miss the mess.

When you text the vet about a mystery lameness, dreading the bill...never realizing it's the final call.

When you clean their sweat from the saddle pad, pick the wads of hair from the washing machine, and don’t think twice about the routine.

When you send their blankets off for repair, frustrated by the baseball sized holes, never imagining they won’t need it next season.

When you cancel a ride because they found the only muddy spot in a ten acre pasture and rolled until they were unrecognizable...just as they always do.

And then, the time will come when you hang up their bridle.
When you clean their halter and tuck it away into a shadowbox, a silent tribute in the hallway.

When you carefully store the tail you sent them to heaven without, waiting to turn it into something that keeps them close.
When you hold onto their worn horseshoes, knowing you’ll never hear them clinking down the barn aisle again.

It never happens the way you expect.
You always think there will be more time.
You’ll wish life had slowed down, just enough for you to be there more, to appreciate them longer.

And then, one morning, you’ll wake up...just as I did...and realize the horse that raised you is tired.
That they need you to be strong one last time.

Maybe, somewhere down the road, another horse will come along and leave their mark upon your heart.

But it won’t be them...they wove themselves into your soul...
And nothing...or no one can take that away.

🩷 Michelle Knutson | Born In The Barn