Hi my name is...
Kristi. I have lived in San Antonio & the hill country most of my life. From the time I was 10 to 25 I spent every spare minute i had with horses. Even on my days off when I wasn't on the clock I was at the barn. Horses have consumed as far back as I can remember.
I have ridden huntseat & western. One time I was talked into entering a saddleseat equtation with only a single lesson under my belt. Surprisingly I placed third out of a class of 20. I did not have a very long career in the show ring. I worked for all my lessons, and although I was able to broaden my skills they were never fine tuned & polished.
When I was 13 I began working at a rental stable for cash rather than lessons. (Haha my starting pay was $2.35/hr.) This was my home. My coworkers were my family. The majority of my time was spent riding in 50 acres of wooded trails making sure that the customers were doing ok, informing of them of their remaining time, making sure their mounts did not take them back too soon, making sure the customers obeyed the rules- no flat out running or racing but they could trot or lope provided that it wasn't muddy & they didn't get the horses hot, and that sort of stuff. Normally my mount was some new horse learning to adjust or some sort of behavior problem that made him not suitable for customers. During the summer I spent at least 30 hours a week on the back of a horse. I LOVED MY JOB!! Eventually I became the manager, overseeing 60-70 head of horses, 20 employees, and anywhere between 50-300 customers a day. Although managing meant giving up all those hours on horseback. I still rode about 8 hours a week. Again I LOVED MY JOB!!
I worked there for 11 yrs. And I never imagined a moment in my life when there would be no horses. That day did indeed come & i was completely blindsided. I felt like my heart had ripped from me. I can't even begin to explain the dispair I felt,& if I could is it possible that anyone could understand? The circumstances are complicated & too detailed to get into at this time.
Here I am 11 years later with no horses in my life. Still there is a huge void missing that I have never been able to fill, it is such a sadness that I don't know if anyone can truly comprehend it. Anyway... thats part of my story.
I have ridden huntseat & western. One time I was talked into entering a saddleseat equtation with only a single lesson under my belt. Surprisingly I placed third out of a class of 20. I did not have a very long career in the show ring. I worked for all my lessons, and although I was able to broaden my skills they were never fine tuned & polished.
When I was 13 I began working at a rental stable for cash rather than lessons. (Haha my starting pay was $2.35/hr.) This was my home. My coworkers were my family. The majority of my time was spent riding in 50 acres of wooded trails making sure that the customers were doing ok, informing of them of their remaining time, making sure their mounts did not take them back too soon, making sure the customers obeyed the rules- no flat out running or racing but they could trot or lope provided that it wasn't muddy & they didn't get the horses hot, and that sort of stuff. Normally my mount was some new horse learning to adjust or some sort of behavior problem that made him not suitable for customers. During the summer I spent at least 30 hours a week on the back of a horse. I LOVED MY JOB!! Eventually I became the manager, overseeing 60-70 head of horses, 20 employees, and anywhere between 50-300 customers a day. Although managing meant giving up all those hours on horseback. I still rode about 8 hours a week. Again I LOVED MY JOB!!
I worked there for 11 yrs. And I never imagined a moment in my life when there would be no horses. That day did indeed come & i was completely blindsided. I felt like my heart had ripped from me. I can't even begin to explain the dispair I felt,& if I could is it possible that anyone could understand? The circumstances are complicated & too detailed to get into at this time.
Here I am 11 years later with no horses in my life. Still there is a huge void missing that I have never been able to fill, it is such a sadness that I don't know if anyone can truly comprehend it. Anyway... thats part of my story.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Nina Kraus on -
Kristi,
I couldn't even imagine my life without these wonderful animals. I feel for you. At least you found a place where you can still enjoy the horses and everything to do with the horse world.
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Permalink Reply by Kristi on -
Yes I still cant imagine horses not being in my life! It truly makes me sad to this very day. Horses were VERY theraputic in my life.
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Permalink Reply by Nina Kraus on
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Have you thought about just finding a barn to take lessons at? I know a lot of people who do this who no longer own horses. Riding is riding. When my horse had the winter off, I just rode some of the school horses. It kept me riding and happy :)
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