The trust between an animal and its human is unlike any other-a man and his dog, a lady and her cat, and a girl and her horse. Like in any other relationship trust doesn’t come along right away, it has to be earned. In my case, I have to trust that my horse will not trample, throw, or kill me. Every time I get on my horse or any other horse I am putting my life at risk. I trust that my horse and I know what we are doing, but accidents do happen and I have been involved in plenty. I have been riding horses since I was 5 and at this point I can accept the fact that once in awhile I am going to fall off, and that’s fine with me.

In order to trust your horse you need to know your horse. Knowledge of the animal is passed down from trainer, to rider, to that little girl at the barn who is just getting on a horse for the first time. At one point a very long time ago I was that little girl, the riders, who were the older kids, were the ones passing down the knowledge they had learned from their trainers. The older kids took care of me at the barn, they brought me to get ice cream, play minigolf, have sleepovers, and play manhunt. I admired these kids so much and looked up to them in so many ways. As time went on and the older kids grew up it was time for them to leave for college. 

Now I was alone at the barn, but I had the knowledge they had given me. It was my turn to teach the younger kids. I found that I was the one competing nationally. I was the one teaching the little kids, helping them grow. I began to understand the tradition our barn community holds. How our knowledge of horses and the life that it evolves into creates the cycle of the barn, how I found myself becoming the kids I had once admired.

I take them on little excursions off of the farm to get ice cream and go mini golfing. When I go to competitions in New York or North Carolina they are the ones that tag along with me and experience what it’s like to compete in huge venues. Giving them the experiences I had always had from my own role models gives me the experience to watch them learn. For them to support me competing, to learn responsibility, leadership, friendship, patience, and passion from me as I had learned from my mentors. They have become some of my best friends even though they’re five years younger than me.

As I get ready to go off to college, I can’t wait to watch my mini me’s develop into role models for the little kids. To admire them keeping the circle of the barn in full swing, for them to understand the unconditional love of our community that evolves from a childhood spent at the barn. As I get ready to leave my home away from home I can only hope that I have had an impact on them as they have had on me.