Origin Stories

FB June 2, 2017

Here’s a picture of a piece of my first career. The first thing I ever remember REALLY wanting to do was ride horses. I was 5.

It took me a year to convince my parents to let me at it. It didn’t hurt that we moved to a state with a mild climate and a really awesome well kept stable less than 5 minutes from our new house.

So when I was 6 years old I got my wish.

I remember showing up sooo excited for my first lesson, I’m pretty sure I was vibrating. My instructor, Kelly, asked me, “So, do you just want to learn to ride? Or do you want to know about all of it?”

In my singular focus and excitement, I said, “I just want to ride…” But my mom, cut me off and said. “I don’t know anything about this. Teach her everything.”

I’m soooo appreciative that she did.

It was a long journey that taught me so much of who I am, and who I want to be.

From that first lesson at 6 to competing, to working in stables, competing more, for many years. (And I was a shit competitor, really my own worst enemy. This was all before I learned about NLP, Hypnosis and how to control my own state. How useful that would have been!)

I loved to train and ride and take care of horses. I did it until I burnt myself out really. And took off from Virginia to Texas for college. Hung it up for awhile.

My parents showed up last year with these ribbons in a box as I’d left them at their house many years ago… I forgot about them… didn’t even open them really.

David and I are cleaning out the garage and I had an inclination to throw them all out. David said, “Why not line them up and take a picture first.” What a great idea! So I did.

And here they are. Lined up from Left to Right, oldest to less old 🙂 I put them there and looked at them, some with notes on the back of the horse and the competition and the date…

I lined them all up and looked at them and remembered how supportive my parents were, how my mom would show up with a cooler full of food and drinks for me and all of my other friends competing, so we didn’t “just take care of the horses, but also ourselves,” she’d say. How my dad would show up with his big ass camera. How they were always there, quietly cheering me on.

We weren’t rich folks. I rode schooling horses I borrowed from the stables I worked at most of this career. But we made it happen.

I started crying remembering all of it. How they encouraged me and let me be all of this that so shaped who I am.

I love them so much.

Holley

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