Meet Amanda
My horse journey began as a young girl where I spent summers on a family friend’s horse hobby farm. With little formal instruction, I would spend all day with the horses - grooming them and talking to them, hand grazing, and of course riding, in the paddock, around the yard, or through the hay field. The horses and I were friends, and we enjoyed our time together with mutual benefit. The lack of formality allowed for the freedom to “play” and have spontaneous fun.
When I became an adult, my mom purchased a farm to keep horses of our own and I was gifted a wild mustang. The practicalities of adulthood told me that while keeping a wild horse would undoubtedly prove to allow for the same fun and friendship I had with horses as a child, that it was my responsibility to “do it right,” “pick a discipline,” and “make it worth it.” And so I dove in head first into the endless informational space of the internet to flood my brain with all it needed to know to follow through on that pursuit. But the safety of following a plan and sticking to The Right Way presented itself very harsh to my feral friend, and we both grew frustrated. My intentions to make his domestic life enjoyable got lost in translation and he made it clear that this path was not for him. We took a bit of a break to reset and just be, and I returned to him with a new plan: listen to my horse. I knew I needed to be safe (he was wild after all), so the rigid rules we played by before softened to more of a recommended guide, and we learned to navigate what would work for us both through better understanding each others needs.
As fate would have it, my first horse traveled on to greener pastures shortly after this epiphany. His loss left me dismayed until my purpose was reignited by a sign to start this journey again with a new mustang. I flooded my brain again with training videos and books, formally learned to ride in lessons from many instructors across many disciplines, leased and went to competitions with other horses more suitable to the disciplines I was studying, and took my time with my new partner at his pace. This endeavor consumed my life and I decided it was time to share my passion with others. While I once had a dream as a teen to run a horse rescue, I had never set out to become a professional in the equine industry. Now, I couldn’t imagine not living my life in the company of others who love horses as much as I do.
Horses encompass a great portion of my time, but away from the barn my life is also fulfilled by my loving husband, Ryan, and our two vivacious children, Bo and Mia. We enjoy family time together outside with our three dogs and our lifestyle is equal parts play and rest, but always as a team. I am so grateful for their support for my aspirations and for the balance my Mustang Spirit has taught me to embrace within my life and family home. I hope to inspire others to seek the same and am so happy to be able to share the value of how a connection with horses can add to that journey.
