"No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle. "

This is dedicated to horse lovers! Anyone who knows me the least bit, knows that horses hold a special place in my heart and always will. I have ridden horses since I was 2, and still ride today!

There is an unexplainable connection I feel when I ride my horses. They are my way of therapy, happiness, and laughter! When riding, you are putting all of your trust into a 4-legged animal that weighs over 1,000 lbs. and at any moment can throw your butt, but chooses not too! (Most of the time lol) I would never have traded my horses for anything in the world growing up. They have taught me so much, and have also been apart of some of the greatest pain and loss I have witnessed thus far. Growing up with horses taught me to take care of things, and that certain things in life were a privilege and you had to work hard to accomplish things- it was not just given to you. All of this that was taught to me from owning horses, has been a lesson that applies to all parts of life.

God has a plan for each of us, and believe it or not, our story is already written for us. I always hoped to attend college and participate on the College Rodeo Team, and then go on from there wherever that might have led in the barrel racing world. Did I plan on going to the NFR? No, but I did plan on pro-rodeoing. December of 2003 "my" plans for life were changed drastically when my amazing horse, Showbox, had to be put down. I was at a difficult time in a 17 yr olds life, that most don't go through, and this was like my the last straw and my heart ripping out. Showbox was the hope I held onto, the friend I always had, and the heart that carried me far. I learned so much from him, and though I was upset at the time that all my plans were doomed, I learned that god had written a different story for me. I got another horse, and though we were not as successful as Showbox and I, it snapped me back to reality. You aren't going to win everything, and life comes with struggles, and we make it through it. I was so frustrated, but the story began to unfold, and as I sit here today it is greater than I could have hoped. Losing Showbox was, is, and will be one of the hardest, most important, things in my life. I cannot talk about this horse without getting tears in my eyes. Later I got Coup, who through EVERYTHING we have been through this horse is pretty amazing. He has personality like a human, and makes me laugh. I enjoy riding him and finally began enjoying to run him again. I need to sell him & hope to, but do not know if I will be able to with his issues. If not, he will be one expensive pet that Josh and I will have until we do get him sold! And I am okay with that, because he will be the horse that my kids will begin on! Because Coup will always be dear in my heart because through him I feel a piece of Showbox.

So with all of this said, Horses are like therapy, and probably just as expensive, but I would not have it any other way!
I leave with my 2 boys and amazing quote that I think wraps it all up:

"A horse is the projection of peoples' dreams about themselves - strong, powerful, beautiful - and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence."


Showbox- The amazing horse that will never be forgotten by many in Vernon


Coupers