The first horse you rode

I feel like I've never actually spoken on here about how I got into riding in the first place.

I've loved horses since I was born. Like, I genuinely can't remember a time when I wasn't asking my parents to buy me a horse. I was hooked on probably the world's dumbest animal. I didn't actually start taking lessons until the summer after 8th grade when my dad finally caved to my incessant begging. Be annoying, kids, it works.

But before all that happened . . . I went to horse camp.


Not only did I go to horse camp, but I was the oldest, tallest, Blackest kid at horse camp. I was 12, which is already a rough age, and to be quite honest, I did feel pretty out of place for that week. Despite the discomfort, it only made me more passionate to keep riding. Horse Camp Summer was also the same summer that I was going crazy designing horse barns. My interest in horses and my interest in architecture kind of took off at the same time. Hasn't really changed since.

GAP brand polo, hand me down jeans, Sportio "riding" boots, ASPCA gloves . . . I peaked at horse camp
But even before horse camp, before reading "Horses For Dummies" cover to cover, and before taking a wild ride on some OTTBs at my friend Jessica's house (will I elaborate on that? probably not), I rode my first horse.

The hat was an impulse buy, but I still have it, so worth it
I don't know his name, but I call him Enrique. This was in Los Cabos, age 11 I believe. We went horseback riding on the beach. This wasn't your typical walk your horse behind a guide for an hour. Oh no. The horses were more or less content to follow our "guide". Probably towards the less side, if I'm being honest. If you can't tell, Enrique is in a curb, and it did come in handy during that ride.

I did another one of those guided trail rides during another vacation in Costa Rica. That one was significantly better executed. At some point though, riding a horse maybe twice a year wasn't going to work out. Glad I'm doing that a little bit more these days.
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Comments

  1. emmaApril 8, 2019 at 9:25 AM

    aw i kinda got my start in a sorta similar way, with awkward horse camps and possibly questionable guided trails haha. makes for good memories tho <3

    ReplyDelete
  2. L.WilliamsApril 8, 2019 at 2:46 PM

    damn you were tall! I never got to do horse camp and was always jealous of my friends who did get to do it. I've only been on one trail ride string that was actually fun, in Hawaii.

    ReplyDelete

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