All I could see was the ground coming closer and closer to my face as I fell for the first time off the back of a horse. There was a teenage boy jumping in front of me, trying to stop the run away and keep me from hurting anything on my very small, frail body, but to no avail. I hit the ground hard, gasps and screams echoing in my ears and ate a few mouthfuls of dirt, sand and horse manure. Being only 5 and having the gritty feeling of sand stuck between my teeth I burst into tears and lay on the wet sand until an adult came to my aid. I was then walked to the hose to rinse my mouth and it was then that I remember feeling the sting in my hands and looking down to witness pieces of sand stuck beneath my skin. This did not help to stop the
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My barn is a nonprofit organization for inner city kids and doesn't only have horses but also sheep, goats, chickens and other farm animals. Basically, my barn isn't a normal place that people go to ride. Most people, when they hear about my riding career assume that I go, ready to ride and then have my horse handed to me and when I'm done riding (or having my horse do all the work for me) I hand it back to the groom and leave. This is about as far from my situation as you can get. I can't count the hours of volunteering and hard work I have done over the years, because, for any amount of hours that I get to ride, I have to work around the same amount, cleaning, feeding the animals or helping with the children's riding camps. Although at times the work may be very difficult, for example, when it's 97 degrees outside and I'm mucking out pens, or when it's three below zero and I have to break ice in the horses' water troughs, I am so grateful for the experience I've had. It has made me a stronger person with an amazing work ethic and an understanding, at a young age, of how hard certain people have to work. Through my riding I have also learned discipline, trust, communication, how to get along with and work alongside my fellow team mates and that with determination anything is possible. It has helped me become a well rounded
My barn is a nonprofit organization for inner city kids and doesn't only have horses but also sheep, goats, chickens and other farm animals. Basically, my barn isn't a normal place that people go to ride. Most people, when they hear about my riding career assume that I go, ready to ride and then have my horse handed to me and when I'm done riding (or having my horse do all the work for me) I hand it back to the groom and leave. This is about as far from my situation as you can get. I can't count the hours of volunteering and hard work I have done over the years, because, for any amount of hours that I get to ride, I have to work around the same amount, cleaning, feeding the animals or helping with the children's riding camps. Although at times the work may be very difficult, for example, when it's 97 degrees outside and I'm mucking out pens, or when it's three below zero and I have to break ice in the horses' water troughs, I am so grateful for the experience I've had. It has made me a stronger person with an amazing work ethic and an understanding, at a young age, of how hard certain people have to work. Through my riding I have also learned discipline, trust, communication, how to get along with and work alongside my fellow team mates and that with determination anything is possible. It has helped me become a well rounded