09/05/2026
Okay, you guys. 🥹🥹🥹
I am so overwhelmed — and honestly, so touched — by the response to my last post about Adult Amateurs and all of the things you have to balance.
I admire you so much for finding a way to prioritize your horses and carve out time for something that means so much to you, even when life is incredibly full.
I feel especially strongly about this because I’ve been there. Before horses became my full-time career, I was a lawyer (don’t hold that against me — I’m a “recovering attorney,” lol 😂). I know what it’s like to feel like you’re balancing two completely separate lives — on different planets, in different universes. 🌍🪐 I know what it takes to make them coexist, and to find the things that fill your cup.
Which brings me to the rider in the photo who inspired that post: Danielle.
You know what Danielle did this week?
She got on her 3-year-old Westfalen gelding, Malibu, for the FIRST TIME.
Like… casually. 😂
And he did GREAT. And she did SPECTACULAR.
Per usual, Danielle was cool as a cucumber, because apparently that is just how she operates. Meanwhile, I’m sure there are plenty of trainers who would have been holding their breath somewhere nearby. 😉
I love moments like this because they’re about so much more than simply getting on a young horse for the first time.
They represent all of the time, effort, patience, learning, and commitment that came before that moment.
And they represent the village.
My assistant trainer, Rachel, has not only started Malibu, but she figuratively held the reins for Danielle’s first time swinging a leg over. Rachel is a person of profound integrity, love, and work ethic, and I am watching her blossom into a trainer who leads by example. I could not be prouder to have her beside me.
And I found myself thinking about how incredibly lucky I am to have Danielle as a student — and even luckier to call her a friend.
The same goes for Rachel. It is rare for me to trust someone, let alone trust them with my horses. And it is an entirely different level of trust to hand over the reins of a freshly started three-year-old to someone who is about to put my Super Fancy Vascular Neurologist on him for the first time. 😂❤️
But that’s what this is about, too.
Trust. Friendship. Hard work. And the people who make these moments possible.
To all of my Adult Amateurs: I see how hard you work. I see how much you juggle. And I see how much your horses mean to you.
It is an absolute privilege to be a small part of your journeys. 💙💜💙🐴
