No "Equestrian" in Team

People always used to ask me if I play volleyball or basketball, probably because I was 6’ tall my senior year. I would politely explain that no, I rode horses instead. Cue frustrations of an equestrian in a rodeo and western centered region. That’s a post for another time!

But when I got older and my riding program was up and running, I thought back to those high school days of trying to find belonging and acceptance by joining team sports in high school. Finding a community of people who shared a bond as a team was something I always coveted and an emotion I think most high schoolers have felt at one time or another.

That’s when I decided to establish the Valley View Equestrian Team. I wanted my girls to have that sense of belonging and community that came from being an official member of something. I wanted them to be able to come together to support each other and not feel competitive against each other, which was something I experienced in the hunter world growing up. I wanted them to be around other horse crazy girls and find common ground, rather than feeling isolated as the “weird horse girl” like I was in high school (although I totally owned that title and was not put off by that at all, so no pity party for me haha!).

Here’s me the weird horse girl and my Oldenburg mare Fable

It was also a great tool for me to be able to coach the girls who wanted to do competitions (however small or large) separately from those who wanted lessons purely for pleasure. When I was young and taking lessons, it I experienced seclusion from girls who had more money and therefore had opportunities to show every weekend. I would literally be paying the same amount for a group lesson with some of those girls and I would sit in the corner with my pony while they rode the course over and over, waiting for my one turn per lesson, so they could get it just perfect before the show. And because I wasn’t competing, I didn’t matter. I did NOT want this type of ostracism as part of my training program.

Cute team girls helping each other out at a show

Our team meets once a month for a group riding lesson and group horse management lesson, similar to a Pony Club. The girls also have their weekly private lessons, but in these team meetings we can work on skills specific to upcoming shows or clinics. Our team also has Valley View team shirts, hats, and water bottles that distinguish our team from other barns at shows. I hold a camp specifically for team members each year that is a 3 day sleepover at the barn, with horse management lessons, group riding lessons and fun activities. These small details help unify the team more than I could have ever expected. I’ve seen some amazing successes, like girls who have no friends at school suddenly having a whole group of friends who hang out at the barn and outside the barn. Girls (and boys!) who had no confidence because they’d been bullied at school setting goals as part of the team and being cheered on and praised by their entire team for accomplishing those goals. Girls feeling frustrated after an unexpected bad turn at a show, being comforted by other girls who have been in their shoes and, because they have the team connection, feeling safe to relate to them. The stories go on and on.

I know being part of a real team has impacted these girls’ lives for the better. And that’s exactly what I’m here to do. Because in the end, it isn’t really about the horses at all.