03/31/2026
This was me at 15. My first horse, Rebel.
I bought him on payments because that was the only way I could make it happen. I paid for all of my tack and boarding too. My saddle came from a consignment shop. I used his tie down as a halter for months until I could afford a real one.
I didn't grow up with riding lessons or a trainer. A lot of it was self-taught, and a lot of it was learning by being around people better than me. No shortcuts. No pretending.
Honestly, that's probably where all of this started.
I learned early that if I truly want something, I have to figure out how to make it happen. People have doubted me more times than I can count. I've failed more times than I can count too. Heck, even the houses I've owned weren't even close to being in the realm of possibilities for me, but I didn't take no for an answer. I reached out to people who pointed me in the right direction and I figured it out.
My daughters have watched all of it, and my husband has been white-knuckling the saddle horn trying to hang on for almost 20 years. It can seem unusual for a woman to spearhead this many ideas, to take up this much space, to be this unapologetically ambitious. But I stopped apologizing for that a long time ago.
My hope is they see that the trying never stopped, and that nothing is impossible if you do, and everything is impossible if you don't.
I don't regret a single step. Every hard one taught me the same thing: the easy way costs more than it saves.
There's a lot of pressure now to be more likable. Less direct. Easier to agree with. I'm sure I wear some people out with my ambitions. But the more you shape yourself to keep people comfortable, the less honest you become.
All of that to say this: in this sport, honesty shows.
Your horse feels every hesitation, every doubt. You can't fake that partnership. Your kids aren't listening to what you say, they're watching what you actually stand on.
I don't have it all figured out. I still miss shots. I still mess up.
But I'm clear on this: I'm not watering myself down to be more palatable. I'm not ignoring what I know is right just to keep the peace. I'm not trading honesty for comfort.
That won't keep everyone around.
But it will keep the right things solid.
Real over easy. Every time.
