One of the things I Iove about being an equestrian is the sense of community (aside from the time with the horses, of course). It doesn’t matter how long it has been since you’ve ridden, but once an equestrian, always an equestrian. So, when one of my clients turned friends told me she was a former equestrian, I knew that I needed to get her down to the barn one day. And that day happened to be this past weekend. It was the first time we had had blue skies in days, the weather felt spring-like, and she was available.
The thing about being an equestrian is that spending time around horses feels like second nature to you. It’s unlike other sports where you feel out of place when you return (although your legs might be sore for a few days after those initial rides). But as I saw with my friend, once we were at the barn, she was grooming the horse and comfortable around him in no time.
Since I spend so much time with these horses one-on-one, it was interesting to watch their reactions when I added another person to the mix. The one horse I rode that day seemed utterly confused that I was riding him, yet another person was walking alongside him before we got our ride underway. He stopped every few seconds to make sure she was still there (and was hopeful that she would hand him a carrot).
But the best thing about bringing a friend to the barn, aside from seeing the sport through their eyes, is that you have a built in photographer and videographer (bonus points to my friend who has a photography background and a great eye). I have so few videos of myself riding since taking them requires me to either dismount off the horse or bend down unnaturally to prop my phone up on the railing. And even then, I can only get clips of the same spot. So, having someone to film and photograph some of my ride that day meant so much to me.
I love the photos my friend took, and I was so glad I got to spend time with my friend at the barn and share my passion with her.
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