#ridelikeagirl

The other day my friend Mary Kate Fahy posted a picture on Facebook of her four-year-old Western Saddlebred Rachael Renee. What you see at first is a beautiful black mare, a nice looking rider, and flashy tri-color championship ribbons. If you read the caption, it starts with “I have a story to share…” before Mary Kate launches into all the struggles she had in bringing this mare to where she is today. (Read here)

Mary Kate & Rachael Renee. (Photo from Mary Kate)

Since men dominated the equine industry for so long, a lot of the older horse icons we look up to are men. And there is nothing wrong with that! Over the years though, the dynamics changed and in came more women. The female gender is the one that dominates most aspects of the industry now. Racing is still mostly men, but there is a much greater rise of women there now too. And I think it’s time we started giving more praise to the women out there now.

Mary Kate’s story not only made me realize that the drive to succeed is extremely important, but it also made me think of some of the women in my life that make me proud to say #ridelikeagirl.

Not only is Mary Kate an inspiration, but so are the ladies of Kismet Farm. Bella and I finished up our last years of showing at Kismet under the direction of Alex Gravett (which I will refer to as Trainer Alex), and Alex Jett (I’ll call her Jett) also came along as an assistant. Trainer Alex started off with Pleasantview Farm, and I came along as she was making the transition into her own operation of Kismet. I was able to see her string of show horses grow as new clients came in and I saw a bunch of kids begin riding in the academy program. There’s enough of them now that Madelyn Palazzo has taken on teaching the next generation there. Trainer Alex was so worried when she moved into her own stable without Pleasantview because the barn seemed so empty, but in no time at all the barn began to fill up and now it is practically full of horses.

Alex Gravett on the left after Bella's last show. (Photo by Show Horse Magazine)

Trainer Alex saw the importance of embracing #ridelikeagirl. In a world where girls already face so much insecurities from societal pressure, we need to be proud of what we are achieving in and out of the show ring. If you’re around the Kismet group long enough, you can’t help but notice the strong connection of dedicated and hard working women out there.

After Bella retired I moved her down the road to Dark HorseTraining Center where I could go out on my own time and play around with my mare while she figured out this whole retirement thing. There I met Mary Rose Cissell. I came from a Saddlebred background and she mostly worked with stock horses, green horses, horses from Eastern Kentucky with little human interaction, and breaking young horses. While the activities from the barns I grew up in looked different from what I watch Mary Rose do, it’s amazing to see the transformation she makes in horses with all her different techniques. I recently read a Facebook post from her (read here) where she talked about all the hardships she has been experiencing with a stallion from Eastern Kentucky. While the stallion has been a challenge, her perseverance has made a world of a difference. It may be a long road ahead, but I know Mary Rose is dedicated enough to see the tough horses through.

Mary Rose on OTTB Good Street "Grayson" at a ranch show. (Photo from DHTC Facebook page)

Deveau Zubrod-Kreitzer is another great woman in my horse life. She is an instructor at Zubrod Stables and also coaches the University of Louisville Saddle Seat team, which I compete on. Deveau has kept me in gear for Equitation after I was no longer showing it in the performance world. She goes from riding in a double saddle with beginner riders to standing in the same spot even when us college kids almost run her over trying to stay on our pattern lines. At the intercollegiate shows, we perform patterns on horses we don’t know that well, if at all, and the patterns may contain difficult elements. As someone who loves pattern practice, even I dread the circles on diagonal lines. Deveau excelled at Equitation in her junior exhibitor years and now passes that on to us. She can even kick butt riding with no stirrups after not being on a horse for a long time.

Deveau and me after an intercollegiate show.

The phrase “like a girl” has had a negative connotation for years. Lately there’s been a push to reclaim the phrase, and the equestrian world is a good place to start for me. There’s so many women who do hard, physical work for long hours but still keep their womanly appearance. Strong doesn’t have to look like bulging muscles throwing hay bales around, it can also look like someone with flowing hair and mascara controlling a 1,000-pound animal and shoveling loads of shavings into 20 stalls.

The women listed here are only a few that came to mind, but they certainly prove that “like a girl” is something to take pride in, and I hope that my fellow female equestrians continue with the movement of #ridelikeagirl.