My current ‘academic’ pursuit is because of one special Clydesdale. I started driving in Gettysburg when I was 17. I was shy, but was able to muster strength to talk to strangers because it was the only way to learn how to drive horses. I always wanted my own carriage. Fast forward some years. After I received my Bachelor’s, I moved to Colorado. I spent the next 19 years bouncing around between seasonal/permanent jobs. I did anything from fighting wildfires, was a full-time professional Game Warden, and worked as a professional Firefighter/EMT. One winter, I met a gentleman that owned Clydesdales. I told him I’d work for free on my days off if he taught me about his horses. I spent several of my days off from work with him drinking coffee and learning about the breed. I fell in love with the Clydesdales. A few years later, I purchased a carriage that needed restoration. I spent a year fixing it. Eventually, I spent my savings to purchase “Chip," a Clydesdale. Over the next six years, Chip and I had the most fantastic adventures. We took brides to the alter, pulled rodeo royalty in rodeo parades, entered horse shows, travelled to the Oregon Coast and rode through the waves of the Pacific Ocean, travelled to Arizona to help a firefighter nonprofit, were subjects in photoshoots in Utah, and took the carriage through the pickup line at an elementary school to pick kids up. Finding farrier for Chips hoof care was difficult. Most farriers aren’t up for the work. After a series of somewhat traumatic experiences with farriers, I realized I had a responsibility to my horse to learn to be a farrier. In October 2023, I sold my house and quit my full-time firefighter career to chase the dream. I enrolled in a horseshoeing school in Kentucky and hauled my things, including my Clydesdale and a beta fish, from CO to KY. I spent two months unpacking, eating healthy, taking an online horse anatomy class, and exercising to prepare for the physical demands of the trade. The school stated they had received my loan. Three weeks into school, I was told that my loan hadn’t gone through. I was asked to sign for a personal loan in the amount of the $36,000. I didn’t feel comfortable with that. I withdrew from the school and paid $2,900 for shoeing tools that I didn’t know how to use yet. I spent the next week with my spirit pretty broken. I questioned how much I wanted to learn to shoe. Then, I remembered my Clydesdale. I remembered that he’s never backed down from any challenge. He still gets in the trailer and meets every adventure head on. I remembered that I owe it to him to be the best advocate for his health and well-being. I set aside my fears and enrolled in the Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School. The school is from May 27 – July 17, 2024 and costs $7750. I intend to use my education to improve the life of, in the very least, one special Clydesdale and to be a female advocate for the betterment of the farrier profession.