About

 

 

One part Warmblood one part Bourbon. Serve chilled, somewhere near Canada….er…scratch that- serve a little too warm somewhere near The South.

Welcome readers! My name is Shelby. I started riding when I was in middle school and took western pleasure lessons on a family friend’s horse. Around the same time, I started volunteering for a therapeutic horseback riding organization- I have been involved ever since. I was a three sport athlete in high school and riding got put on the back burner. After suffering career ending sports injuries in high school, my focus shifted to rapidly learning a new sport- rowing- and competing nationally while in college. After college, with a little more money in my pocket, I decided to take up riding again, having never lost the passion. I started riding at a dressage barn at the age of 21 and leased my first horse, a Belgian draft mare, in 2011.

Eight years ago, I moved from Minnesota to Indiana where it took me quite a while to get back into the horse world. Oddly, there are fewer options for riding here than in Minnesota. I started taking weekly lessons at an eventing barn where a very talented young trainer essentially rebuilt me from scratch. For three years I full-leased an older  pinto warmblood cross and took weekly dressage lessons. In February of 2019, I bought my very first horse, a young warmblood gelding named Braveheart, or Bravo. I write this blog to document my riding progression and occasionally as a thought repository.

The online horseblogging community is simply incredible. I learn so much from all of you- it is an honor just to participate.