03/18/2026
Great readโฆ
๐๐ง๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญโฆ ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฉ?
Letโs be honest, everything costs either time or money.
And somewhere along the wayโฆ we started replacing time with money.
๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ค๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐๐, ๐ฐ๐โ๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐. ๐๐โ๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ... ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฌ, ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ.
The places where a kid could show up with a grade horse, clean stalls, do whatever it took to earn a ride, and value the opportunity when they got it.
Because that level was never just about accessibility.
It was where kids learned:
โข sacrifice
โข grit
โข failure
โข responsibility
โข how to keep going when they were tired, frustrated, and discouraged
โข and what both time and money are truly worth
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ค ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ, ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ.
As parents, we want to invest in our kids.
We want to give them every opportunity to succeed.
We want to give them more than we had.
We want to help them get to the top faster.
And that is absolutely reasonable. It's normal. It's human.
But itโs worth askingโฆ What exactly are we investing in?
- Are we investing in the easier road?
- Or are we investing in developing a human being who can handle adversity, pressure, setbacks, and still show up when itโs hard?
- Are we investing in the value of patience, blood, sweat and tears, and time to earn the opportunity to have a great horse?
- Are we giving them the opportunity to learn to appreciate a great horse even more?
Because those are two very different outcomes.
Don't get me twisted. There is real value in our our kids learning to be confident on an old school master that is automatic. But in my opinion there is also real value in learning to make one or draw the best out of a below average one. It's a slippery slope.
๐๐ง ๐ญ๐จ๐๐๐ฒโ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ฐ๐โ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐๐ญ๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ. ๐๐โ๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐'๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ. ๐๐โ๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐.
And while that keeps them competitive in the short termโฆ it can quietly remove the very things that create longevity in this industry.
There is real value in:
- showing the tough ones
- figuring it out without all the answers and learning how to get through a run when it doesnโt go as planned
- developing an eye for soundness to have the best horse possible to show
- appreciating how valuable farriers and veterinarians are to the horse and your team
This is where confidence is built.
Where feel is developed.
Where true horsemen are made.
And hereโs where the conversation gets even harderโฆ
๐๐๐ฅ๐ค ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ๐๐๐ฒ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒโ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ : ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฉ.
So what is โgood help,โ really? Itโs not just skill.
Itโs people who understand that sometimes the paycheck isnโt just money, itโs time, experience, and opportunity to learn.
Itโs the ones who donโt expect to show right away, because they understand what it means to earn it. It's the ones that understand how important it is to know your horse, their habits, their tendons, their joints, their diets, their issues. The ones that can recognize problems before they are emergencies.
Itโs the ones who have:
Cleaned 20 stalls for one lesson
Cleaned saddles with a toothbrush to be able to groom horses
Ridden the โbelow averageโ horse and figured out how to make it competitive
The ones that put in the hours when nobody was watching and pay attention to the tiniest detail to make someone else's process easier
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ง๐. ๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌโฆ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐.
We have to start thinking long term.
What happens to this industry a decade from now when the cost of competing at the top continues to riseโฆ but the stepping stones to get there continue to disappear?
We are starving the pipeline.
We are losing the hustlers.
The grinders.
The kids who would have found a way, no matter what.
๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ... ๐โ๐ฆ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ฏ๐, ๐๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐, ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ. ๐๐ก๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ. ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐โ๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ, ๐ฌ๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ค๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐
๐๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ซ๐ข ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ง. ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐.
That is far from the truth. I am all for them. I love watching them show a great one. It take's a special set of skills to get one through the pen. Like the people that argue trainers wives or kids are at an advantage in the show pen. The reality is they all have to put in the time to get to the top. Thats the beauty of the leveling agent of horses as a 1200 pound dance partner.
I just hope we aren't going to also lose the kids without the same opportunities by making the stepping stones at the lowest level unavailable.
๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฉ ... ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ง๐. ๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐จ๐ซ, ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ค๐๐ฌ, ๐๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ฎ๐ญ.
It teaches timing, feel, patience, and problem-solving in real time. It builds confidence that isnโt dependent on the horse being perfect, but on the rider learning how to create the result both on their backs and in the barn. Because let's be honest - success with a horse is only found about 10% of the time on their back. great horses are built in the shadows of long days, long nights, and lots of grinding. That journey, taking something raw and helping shape it into a finished horse, is where some of the deepest understanding and respect for the craft is developed.
๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. ๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐. ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ข๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ.
Because if we donโt protect and rebuild the grassroots level,
weโre not just losing accessibilityโฆ Weโre losing the very foundation that built this industry in the first place.
๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ณ๐จ๐จ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ข๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. ๐๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ, ๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฌ, ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐ง, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐จ๐๐ญ๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ฅ๐-๐ฐ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ง๐๐. ๐๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ก๐๐ค๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ญ.
At the same time, theyโre carrying pressures we never had, social media measuring sticks, imposter syndrome, their lives on record at all times - highs and lows for the world to see, and the feeling of being evaluated 24/7 publicly.
Thatโs real.
It's hard.
It's often heartbreaking.
But thatโs also why agriculture, and the horse industry in particular, matters so much. Itโs one of the last places where kids can learn the beauty of the struggle. How to manage and process setbacks, loss, and heartbreak. Where effort is visible. Where time matters. Where failure teaches and molds. And where theyโre surrounded by people who understand the grind, respect the sacrifice, and know that the long road is still the one worth taking.
๐๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ (๐ก๐๐๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฅ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ - ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ) ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ, ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐จ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ซ๐จ๐จ๐ฆ, ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง, ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ.
