To the Horse That Gave Me Everything

            

            On Monday my dad will load Finn onto a trailer to head down to Maryland and start his new life. From 6 hours away I will wait patiently for the call saying he has arrived and I will do what I can to move forward with only thanks. Some horses ask more of us then we think is possible, we struggle to find the courage to jump the fences, the emotional strength to make the right decisions and the humbleness to laugh when we get eliminated at the water for the 6^th time. They force us to step outside of our comfort zones and become the people who we wish we could have been all along. It isn’t just about riding or winning, these are the horses that help us grow up.

            The truth is that nine times out of ten I had no clue what I was doing when I got on Finn, but he made me trust my own feel and let go of the fears I had harbored for so long. Even on his worst days he made me better. He trained me. For months I have tried to make Finn into what I wanted; what I thought that I needed. Things would work and then they wouldn’t and it because an endless cycle of disappointment on both sides. I felt like I was letting my best teacher down. He kept telling me he needed something else, something easier, but I couldn’t listen because I still needed him. I was selfish.

            But, Finn was still teaching, he was still forcing me to grow up. When he got to school with me he wasn’t happy, he was faltering. I saw that it was time. So now down the road he goes, to little girls, horse shows, ribbons, braids and a forever home. To new young girls to teach to be young women, finally, the opportunities are endless for the horse that gave me everything.