05/03/2026
Definitely!!
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐.๐ค
Do you remember the days when it was all for the love of the horse? Maybe it was when you were a kid and you couldn't wait to run out to the barn. You were so eager just to ride, you didn't even have time for a saddle. You would just jump on ba****ck, with a halter and lead rope and head out in the pasture or down a dirt road. No stress, no agenda. It was joyful. It was peaceful.
You weren't worried about entry fees or payouts. You didn't know, nor did you care, how your horse was bred. You weren't comparing yourself to anyone else. You were just happy to be on a horse. It was a privilege, and you were grateful for it.
Somewhere along the way when we as trainers, owners, breeders, start climbing the ladders in the performance horse world, ๐ฌ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ช๐จ๐๐ฃ๐๐จ๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ ๐จ๐ฉ๐๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐. It's a tragic loss because the key component that drew most, if not all of us, to these beautiful creatures is, in fact, their magic. The partnership between a 1,000-pound animal and a human, two species that speak completely different languages yet can become so finely in sync emotionally and physically is a miracle. We take it for granted.
Maybe the real win isnโt always another buckle, paycheck or statisticโ maybe itโs finding our way back to that version of ourselves who loved the horse before the hustle. The one who felt rich just sitting ba****ck at sunset.
The industry will always be there. The goals, the pressure, the next big thing โ they arenโt going anywhere. But the magic? Thatโs something we have to protect. We have to choose it.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ โ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐โ๐น๐น ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐โ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด. โจ