We all have our stories whether it be good or bad, amazing or sad; but here is how my story began with a majestic creature who was thought to have no chance at anything but to sit in solitude. It all begins with a small dream that will lead to something not even I expected.

I had been blindfolded by my mom and ended up in the car. All I knew was that I was in jeans and a t-shirt and definitely wasn’t ready for a day to be out and about. We then pulled into a bumpy, what seemed like gravel and pothole filled road. It seemed like forever and I was getting annoyed with this itchy blindfold over my eyes and even around my head. With close eyes monitoring me, I wasn’t able to sneak a peek at where we were heading or where I was. About two minutes later the car came to a graceful stop without any ruckus.

I was ready to step out of the car with no cares in the world except to stretch my legs after what seemed like hours of sitting in the tiny back seat of my mom’s car. I could tell I was standing in something muddy before someone finally grabbed my shoulders and lead me into some doorway with a new type of texture underneath my shoes. As soon as I walked in, I could smell a familiar smell of hay, oats, and manure. Suddenly the sound of hooves on concrete could be heard along with the click of photos being taken by my mom, the photographer freak (I swear there wasn’t a minute that went by without a picture being taken that day). Thoughts had rushed through out my head. Most of these were ones that seemed impossible. I mean I had been searching for a horse that I knew would be my best friend.

A few long seconds later I knew I was standing in front of a living being that was definitely not human size. A whisper in my ear was what I had been waiting for. 3...2...1...Surprise! I must have been in suspense for so long that all the energy in me was on full throttle! I took off that itchy blindfold like I was about to run a race for my life. But as my eyes opened it was almost like the sun smacked me in the face. As soon as they were done adjusting, a shadowy figure of a very large animal was in my sight. I couldn’t quite make out the figure yet but I turned around hoping my mom didn’t get a picture yet, and rubbed my eyes. They had finally adjusted to the strong light and I turned back around to stare at the figure I couldn’t see before.

In front of me was a horse! It was a beautiful and pleasant, dark bay like the color of a pretty dark brown and a black mane and tail that flowed freely. She had three white markings on three of her four legs. There was also a large white stripe that started at her forehead and went all the way down to her nose. I took notice of the white and thought it looked like an upside down thermometer. I was told this majestic horse was all mine! I couldn’t believe it! It was a mare (or girl horse if you didn’t know what a mare was). I was told her name was Gert, and immediately I wanted to change it to something new and more up-to-date. Then I remembered that if you do change a barn name it could be terribly bad luck. It was then decided to keep her name as Gert. She was a registered American Quarter Horse and American Paint Horse and in these associations she had a total of two registered names including She’s The Rage and She’s All Impulse.

A day later I spent an hour brushing her. Getting to know and figure her out was something that took time to lead up to a relationship between the two of us. At this same day my new trainer, Tracy, had told me all of her background information. Gert was only 4 years old and had some energy but her name told the story of why she had been called Gert. That was simply just that she had been less energetic and very slow, which was a great thing for western pleasure. She had also been brought down to Goshen from a big barn in Northern Ohio. She was born and trained there. You could tell she wasn’t used as much as she should have because of her muscles lacking some strength.

The barn where we kept Gert was not owned by me or my family. Us horse people call this boarding. It was ok though because it was close to my house and I knew Gert would be taken care of. It was only a 5-10 minute drive. There was a gravel road that lead back to Tracy’s house. Then you would always have to hop out of the car and open the green gate and you were there. The barn had a tan siding and dark green roof. There had also been two sliding doors on two of the smaller sides. When you walked in the doorway, there was a big mound of piled up hay and three stalls side by side.

Gert was already at home, and for only being 4 that was an accomplishment! Most horses can be uncomfortable and unsure of a new place when they first arrive. It was only a few weeks after the arrival and I was ready to see what Gert knew and how she rode. I grabbed her bright blue halter and lead rope and headed out to the pasture to get her and saddle up. Little did I know she hates mud and puddles. I went to the gate and she was standing to the side where there was solid ground. I then went to the front of the gate where the mud was waiting. I opened the gate slowly and realize Gert was pulling me backward with the lead rope in my hands. I didn’t want to let go and pulled and pulled. She wouldn’t give even an inch. I then walked to solid ground and pulled so hard she jumped over the entire thing of mud and ran past me into the arena. All the while I was still gripping the lead rope not sure of what just happened. I didn’t fall but let go as fast as I could when I realized she had taken off. That’s when I got the message that Gert had an issue with mud and small amounts of water on the ground.

I had finally gotten her to settle down and get saddled. I lead her over to the mounting block and hoped up. When I rode, it was one of the best rides I had ever had! She knew what she was supposed to do in walk trot but she didn’t know how to canter. I didn’t care about that just yet because at Fair we would only be doing walk trot. She was smooth and never stumbled.
It was July when we went to one show that would prepare us for fair. I was a nervous wreck and was drinking Coke like crazy to help get me relaxed. It was time for our first class to begin and that was western pleasure. For this class you had to stay on the rail and allow the judge to see how your horse moved. Gert was ready to go all prettied up and I was, too. I got on walked and trotted around the makeup ring and was then called into the real ring. I smiled a very fake and serious smile and walked in slowly. There were about 12 people in my class. This is what we did: walked, then trotted, stopped, backed, reversed, trotted and lined up. It was ok, I knew I probably would have to prepare for the worst or by freak chance I would place. A minute later the announcer came on,” And our first place for western walk trot 18 and under goes to...number 252 She’s The Rage.” I was so happy and then I thought they called the list backward, but no I had won! We celebrated by getting comfy and headed home.
A few weeks later we prepared for the 2013 Clermont County Junior Fair. I won’t go into detail about that because it was a whole seven days of rain and wasn’t fun unless it was before the rain. But I will say we did awesome and came home with 2 grand champion signs, chairs, and lots of trophies and ribbons. We had won both English and Western championships out of about 25 other kids.
After Fair it rained a lot and Tracy’s was getting tiring because I couldn’t ride while it was raining in an outdoor arena. So my mom and I talked about switching barns. We had come to a decision that Gert needed more training for her canter and Tracy didn’t have the time Gert needed. We decided to move to a new barn called Watson’s Quarter Horses. The research on this place was fantastic! Jamie, our new trainer had won the AQHA world many times and was very successful. Within two weeks we had told Tracy that we were moving and we did.
Jamie’s barn was amazing to me. It was clean and had both an indoor and outdoor arena with plenty of pastures. The stalls were cool, too! They were big; not small like Tracy’s. I knew Gert would definitely like it here. We pulled up in my uncle’s huge truck and 3 horse trailer. We had to pull in backwards for most of the driveway because the truck and trailer were so long and wide. All I could think about was please, Gert, make a good impression on Jamie. It was now time to unload and settle. I have to say it must have been an awesome day for Gert because she acted like a pro! We walked in and Jamie was waiting quietly for her arrival. She pointed at a stall for Gert to go into. She was placed in stall number seventeen.
I went home and thought about what Jamie might be doing with Gert now; since today I would be going to the barn. I had let Jamie figure Gert out for two weeks. When I imagined what Jamie could be doing, it was productive to getting Gert to listen and do what was expected of her. When my time to ride finally came it was a good first ride since the training had begun. Gert was progressing like it was her goal to succeed. I thought the day ended really well and went to bed not so stressed anymore.
Jamie trained Gert for about two months and she was a completely new horse. Our first show with Jamie came shortly after Gert's training. It was a western pleasure class with about 50 people entered. I was really nervous but so ready to show everyone what we could now do. I drank a whole coke before entering the make-up ring to get ready to show. I knew we would have no issues.
I walked in slowly like I was supposed to. Jamie and practically the whole barn were watching and waiting to see how I would do. Everyone was now in and the judge looked at everyone once and then asked us to trot. Gert went smoothly into it and was perfect so far. The judges took another look and asked us to canter. Now was the moment; I went in perfectly into a lope or canter. The judges took another look and signaled us to walk and line up. Everyone was in a straight line and waited in suspense.
I clenched my eyes wondering how they thought I did. The announcer came on. I listened closely to hear my name. I think that someone read my mind and that announcer said exactly what I was thinking! I had placed first under all of the judges! Everyone lined up on the rail out of my barn was laughing and excited and I was, too! We went back and celebrated with what we call "truck food" because at a horse show only food trucks were there to serve food.
In the end I realized that setting goals and striving to reach them was a real accomplishment. I also realized I was an underdog with a true hearted chance to get somewhere with a horse that seemed like nothing. Through all of this I was pleased and ready to set my next goal as an accomplished rider.