Don’t let others prevent you from following your dreams

Growing up on a dairy farm, I had big aspirations to do something with animals when I grew up, specifically horses. I was often told that animals are expensive and a lot of work, so I should find a more stable career path. As I entered high school, I had people telling me that I’m “too smart not to go to college” and that I should “choose a career that will make good use of my brain, like a lawyer”. I was frustrated and torn. Should I do what I want to do or should I fit into the standard society had set for me? For two years, I struggled with the idea that I would be wasting my brain if I followed a career in horses. But then, I applied for the 2021 Oklahoma Extreme Mustang Makeover in the youth division, with my parents’ cautious support. I had dreamed about this for too long to give it up because of what others said. I struggled my way through training my horse, Arrow, and was repeatedly told by people that I should give horses up and pursue a more reasonable career. And if I’m being honest, they almost convinced me. I was really discouraged by my lack of knowledge and my apparent failure with Arrow. But then I connected with a group of my fellow youth competitors and they were the most encouraging and supportive people I’ve ever met. They helped me problem solve with Arrow and shared their own struggles. I felt less alone and less like a failure. With their support, Arrow blossomed into a great horse and ended up placing in the top 10 at the makeover. School started up a couple of weeks after the makeover and I was hearing the same old thing about being too smart for horses. I found a couple of teachers that were interested in and supportive of my horse journey and blocked out what the others told me. This feeling of success was amazing and I wasn’t about to give it up. I continued to train Arrow and he became a great liberty and trick horse. I took him to school to educate about mustangs, did a liberty demonstration with him at a kids camp, started him under saddle completely bridleless, and turned him into the lead horse of my liberty team. I recently graduated from high school as the valedictorian of my class and, as I walked across the stage, knew that I would be pursuing a career as a horse trainer despite being told it would be a waste. I am now interning with a trainer and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. Don’t let others prevent you from following your dreams. It may be a lot of work, but you will never be happy unless you go for it. You will never be truly happy unless you take that chance and go for it.