I could feel myself flying through the air, almost in slow motion. This was it, I was going to die and be trampled and break all my bones. I would be a pile of Jello forever. The ground was getting closer and closer as I braced myself for the impact. Just a few seconds earlier, I had worked up the courage to go over a small jump on my horse, Mikki. I’m not- nor have I ever been- a jumper. I like to keep all four feet on the ground. Mikki had jumped before but wasn’t particularly graceful. However, I was in a barn full of people who liked to jump as high as possible as fast as possible- so I supposed I should try it out. As we approached the tiny cross-rail, Mikki locked on to it. His ear perked up and he began keeping a faster pace. “Sit up, sit up, sit up” I thought to myself. Not staying tall enough would end in disaster- I’d be bounced out of the saddle, yanking on poor Mikki as I went. I could see the spot I wanted to take off, and I began to adjust pace accordingly. Three strides out, we were ready. We would take off a perfect distance away, at a nice pace, and go right over the center of the jump. Two strides out, I was still on track for a flawless jump. One stride out, I began to lift myself up into a crouching position, bending my knees and preparing for the liftoff. Mikki jumped, alright. We took off perfectly and my position was perfect. Not too far forward or back, just perfect. He had jumped much bigger than he needed to, but oh well. We landed, and less than a stride out, Mikki let out a massive buck. Suddenly, my unbalanced body was falling over his neck in a somersault. I could hear a gasp from my mom, who had been watching my ride, as I hit the ground. That hurt. Immediately I raised my arm in the gesture of a thumbs-up. I didn’t need an ambulance, but I couldn’t shout that I was alright with the wind knocked out of me. I recovered quickly and opened my eyes to Mikki standing right over me, staring. His expression read-“Mom, you were supposed to be on my back! Why are you down there?” I immediately burst out into hysterical laughter. I can only imagine what my poor mom saw, her eldest daughter on the ground, shaking uncontrollably with a two-thousand-pound animal standing over her. By now my mom was concerned enough to rush into the arena, only to find me smiling with tears in my eyes. I still hadn’t even sat up, but Mikki had started nosing at my splayed limbs. This sent me into even more laughter, and this time my mom joined in. What could have been an incredibly traumatic ride, was actually one of the best I’ve ever had. My giant puppy of a horse made an incredible memory for both me and my mom.

I've spent most of my life participating in some form of volunteer work. I've done everything from sorting shoes for In Ian's Boots to writing cards to taking therapy bunnies to nursing homes. However, on of my favorite oppurtunities was when I volunteered at Sebastian Riding Associates, a 501(c)(3) riding school dedicated to making therapuetic riding accessible to people with physical and mental disabilities. I helped in one of their summer camps. I not only had fun, but I learned more than I could have ever expected from the kids we worked with. Most people don't realize how the unique view kids with mental disabilities have on our world can be such a blessing to those of us without it. Dirong the summer camp that I worked at Sebastians, we had one child who simply couldn't acclimate to the environment. She didn't want to be there, but we couldn't get in contact with her parents. After about an hour of walking around with her and tryign to help her relax, I was approached by another camper, a young boy with autism. He wordlessly handed her an ice pop, then walked away. I was shocked to see the upset camper take it and start eating, as she had turned down the offer of one just 5 minutes ago. Within 20 minutes of tha encounter, the little girl was off playing with the other kids and smiling. I approached another counselor after that and was discussing the situation, and how that ice pop from another child seemed to flip a switch. That was when I realized, she had just wanted to feel included and like a part of the group. She was older than the others and had different interests, so she would have had trouble fitting in. another child offering her his acceptance was the equivalent to her being in the group.This had me thinking. How many times have I been uncomfortable in a situation because I felt like the odd one out, and a small gesture pulled me in? How many tuimes has a friend turned the conversation to me, and that link led to an evening of chatting and laughter? I saw so many parallels between myself and the situation. The openness and different viewpoint of these children was like a mirror into the actions that nuerotypicals often conceal. For the rest of the week, I found myself watching the kids play and seeing even more links. I never wuld have seent hese things if it weren't for volunteering that summer. I would never have realized how people can feel comfortable in a group with a small gesture. We all need to pay more attention to the children.

I've been riding horses since I was 10 years old. Over the years, I've learned all of the "traditional horsemanship". I've been told to just make the horse that doesn't want to do something do it. I haven't batted an eye watching a horse get disciplined for simply making its feeling known. This all changed when I bought my first horse, Mikki. Now, I look back and grimace. Mikki was always labeled as a "special" horse. He was a tricky ride, and his behavior wasn't great. But for some reason- this horse and I clicked. In the horse world, there is something known as a "heart horse". They're essentially the soulmate equivalent of a horse, and Mikki is mine. After a year and a half of leasing him, my family nded up buying Mikki. Over this time, I had been learning about behavior and how different kinds of reinforcement impacted it. At this point, I had already begun listening to him more and taking his feelings ino account. So, when he stoped wanting to be ridden, I listened. I knew something was wrong. Countless people told me that Mikki was simply taking advantage of my kindness and being lazy. I was laughed at and teased for being so "soft". However, with a veteranarian's help, we diagnosed Mikki with an extreme vitamin E deficiency, which we treated. Now, 3 months later, Mikki is doing better than ever. His behavior has vastly improved from how he has been his whole life. We've been using positive reinforcement training to help him get ready to be ridden again. We've even moved barns to a smaller, more quiet atmosphere. I have never seen this horse so relaxed. This leads me to ask- how many horses aorund the world are really in pain or uncomfortable, but labeled as "naughty"? This is the basis of what I want to do in the future. The equine world is decades behind other animal worlds, such as dogs, who have now realized that R+ (positive reinforcement) is the best and kindest way to work with animals. I plan on going to college to study Equine Buisiness Management in order to gain a level of trustworthiness for future clients and to collect as much knowledge as possible. Then, once I leave school, I want to open my own barn and training facility, similar to the traditional ones I grew up in, but with one key difference. Instead of teaching kids (and adults) to make horses do things, I want to teach them to listen to their horses and use R+ methods to make the the happiest they can be. I want to help change the way our world looks at their equine partners. I want to put an emphasis on relationship, not riding. These views will, without a doubt, come with backlash. People will think that all of this is stupid and not worth the effort. But I believe in a better fututre for the animals that give their everyhting to us, and I want to be a part of it. If hoping to change the world isn't unique, I don't know what is. I will not stop until I make a difference.

I've always had big dreams, but this one doesn't seem so far out of reach. I am passionate about everything equine. However, my biggest goal is to run my own buisiness that is based around positive reinforcement behavior modification. Something that the equine community is far behind on, compared to say- the canine world, is how we interpret our animals behavior. As soon as a horse acts out, many equestrians scold them, yell at them, or even hit them. You see events like these happen at any barn or horse show you go to. If you saw soemone doing that to a dog, you would probably be apalled. An interesting fact about most animals, including horses, is that the part of the brain that allows humans to be malicious in their actions is not developed in horses. They literally cannot be "naughty" just for the fun of it. There is always a reason behind their actions. I want to educate the equestrian community about this and how we can actually help our horses to not feel the need to "act out". This could make a massive difference in my community. There are dozens of barns and training facilities around me, but none of them look at horses like this. It is a new idea that I think could attract lots of people who either struggle with how their animal acts or aren't happy with how horses are treated in other places. Once they are hooked by my help, then they can be educated and will stay for the community and ongoing learning. I know that if I had an oppurtunity to work with someone who does what I would like to do, I would be ecstatic. To develop this buisiness, my first step will be going to college. I want to major in Equine Buisiness Management, which will allow me to get even more in depth knowledge about horses. In addition, it will give me some buisiness background to help me get up and running. Then, to gain experience, I will try to find work as a barn manager at a boarding facility. I may also get a job as a social media manager or as part of a marketing team for an equine-based company. Once I have more experience in the field and the means to do so, I would like to buy or lease a facility to launch my buisiness from.Then, once I find clients and have their horses moved in, I will advertise mainly through social media and word of mouth. I think that my buisiness idea could make a huge difference in my community and the equine indusrtry overall.

Horseback riding isn't what many would consider a "conventional" sport. However, it is hard on an athlete, both mentally and physically. Many of us enquestrians would never had contnued riding had it not been for an irreplaceable coach. For me, that coach was Roxanne Khan, affectionately known as Rox.She lifted me up and gave me the boost I needed to become the strong rider I once was. After three years of riding, I was ready to quit. I had fallen off of the horse too many times. I had lost the spark that made me love riding, and instead I was afraid with every ride. But part of me wasn't ready to give up. I wanted to fight to continue the sport I held so closely to my heart. So, my family and I decided to make a change. After touring a few training facilities in the area, we met Roxanne. From our first conversation, I knew she was the coach for me. She was kind, but tough, and I knew she could give me the push I needed to face my fears. So we scheduled a lesson. For the first one, Roxanne walked beside me as I rode. She was there as a safety net as we chatted and got to know each other. By the time we got to the second lesson, she was starting to really teach me. "Your heels should be so far down they are drawing a line in the sand," she used to say, "Not flying throught the air like a plane". Slowly but surely I began to look like the confident rider I was once again. I joined the group lessons Rox set up and hopped onboard different horses. I galavanted all over the area with Roxanne to look at horses for her and help other riders. I had my spark back. Then came the tough part. I found out that my last coach really hadn't taught me well at all. I had to relearn everything I had worked so hard to teach myself. But I persevered, and Roxanne taught me how to ride correctly. After six months with Roxanne, I was representing Innova Riding Associates at local shows and winning. Though I no longer work with Roxanne, I owe everything to her. She gave me the strength I needed to dig deep into myself and pull out the seed of fight that had been buried so far down. I am so glad that I never gave up on my equestrian dreams. Now, I have my own horse and am retraining him to be the best partner he can be. Thanks to Roxanne, I'm able to be the rider that my horse deserves.