One time my grandpa and I were on a ride and my saddle was totally slipping off the horse; I went to correct the saddle slip and up in the air I went. Now, when I was younger it was basically like I was all by myself out there on this fifteen hundred pound animal.  So once he finally turned around and saw he went and got the horse, came back to me sitting on the ground with the wind knocked out of me. “What’d you do” was the first thing I got asked, not what the horse did or anything like that or what popped out of the brush. Most grandpas would probably ask if their grandchildren were okay. But not mine. I feel like these actions have led to our great relationship now and him being such an impact in my life. He’s the main reason why I have my love for horses and all these weird qualities. And with all that has affected the path I want to take for my future.

In my grade, I am the weird horse girl and that's mainly all that needs to be said. I started riding at age two all thanks to my grandpa. Most kids that age any person wouldn’t be crazy enough to put a kid on an animal weighing fifteen-hundred pounds, but it’s all about trust. Throughout the years I started to get a love and understanding of the sport. Just two years ago we had gotten these unridden young horses; aka they're kinda crazy. One of them bucked him off and I happened to be there, after this it was a group decision to throw me up there. Having that type of confidence in a person that they can deal with whatever's coming is such a great feeling. After this happened he was held up for a couple months, not able to work or anything. The horse business is a crazy one to be in. First, there's almost no money in it, and secondly, an injury is super easy. I would’ve probably dropped my hobby of horses by now if it weren’t for all the support (and crap) I’ve gotten from my grandpa. When I’m always broken physically and broke money wise I tend to have qualities other people wouldn’t.

Over time I’ve come to realize my grandpa and I have a lot of the same qualities; all these mainly reflecting those of horses. I hate change with a passion. Horses hate change, they hate going new places, meeting new people, much like us two. If horses were humans I would guess they would be very sarcastic. I come off as mean a lot because of the amount of sarcasm I use. Now, I’m so used to being like this around people because of my grandpa. The strongest similarity is probably our love for reading. Both of us could sit somewhere with a book for hours and not be bored. And the last thing I don't realize that I don’t laugh a lot. And when I do it’s at the dumbest stuff, or puns. Which I guess I could say the both of us barely laugh, Instead we give out a whole lot of crap. All of these qualities of myself have lead me to what I want to do with my future.

One of the main things I got from my grandpa is the love of animals. Even at the age of seventy-three all of this stuff is a big part of his life.  Still working too, just patiently waiting to retire; now if that doesn’t say how much we hate change, I don’t know what will. In these industries, as I said, there is almost no money. That’s why it’s not the easiest decision if anyone would want to get into the business or not. On top of that area of business, they also breed puppies and that’s where they make the majority of the money. Growing up this way I’m bound to do something animal related when I get older. I also have to make a lot of hard decisions with this choice. I got this puppy named Noelle registered, chipped, hips and eyes tested. The plan was to breed her but, she just didn’t have the right temperament. Spaying her and keeping her as a pet is what the final decision was. So, yes I’ll lose out on so much money but I have the love for it is there. And my grandpa made sure I had the passion just so I could make these decisions.

That is all the reasons why my grandpa has impacted me in so many ways including my love of horses, my personality, and what I want to do in my future. Some days it’s a blessing. Other times it’s worth a scolding for bringing this lifestyle upon me. Even though on those first rides, like I said before, it should’ve ended with a strong disliking for him. But in the end, he’s my favorite person and without him I wouldn’t be able to have any of this. Even now that he’s ditching me for Arizona.