I was considered the black sheep of the family for, of the ten boisterous kids, I was the quiet one. A homely child, with my unruly curls and large eyes, I was painfully shy. Needless to say, from a very young age I was a bit of a loner, marching to the beat of my own drum.
Therefore, it came as no surprise to those who knew me, that in my early twenties I decided to move from Colorado to Boston, not knowing a soul in Massachusetts. I did this on a whim, thinking, “If I am not smart enough or rich enough to go to MIT, then at least I can live there!” With that mantra I moved to the town abutting the Cambridge campus and never looked back.
A happy black sheep today.
So to now find myself, a show jumping Grand Prix wannabe, training at an eventing barn, is well, just par for the course. To me, this recent adventure reaffirms my tendency to seek out new experiences and challenges as well as my commitment to the sport.
The way I figure it, I am learning SO much in this world of formal equestrian riding, totally removed from my childhood experiences riding bareback through the Florida orange groves, that terms like, “three phase,” “prelim,” and “combined test,” are just more of the same.
