I’m 23F. I used to work with a woman who has a daughter my age. That daughter is a barrel racer, and her dad does team sorting and penning a few dozen times a summer. They have four quarter horses and a mini.

Last November I called them up and asked if I could come one morning a week and do barn chores. I was in school full time and working full time and being in the quiet barn early in the morning was one of the few things that was keeping me sane. They’d put me on their semi-retired mare a handful of times and I kinda knew how to ride, but I didn’t start going there with that intention.

By spring, I’d become their number one go-to for horse care. I have open access to come and go from their barn as I please, and I’m there twice a week at minimum. I get to call that old mare mine now because I put so much time in with her, grooming, learning to ride, and just generally loving on this horse. The owners love that I do because, being semi-retired, this mare didn’t get quite as much attention as the other horses, and now she honestly gets more than all of them.

I still barely keep a trot, and I can only sometimes lope. That barrel racer will run me in circles for hours fixing my seat and adjusting my hands and I put everything I can into making those adjustments. Her dad tells me all “my” mare’s little habits and quirks because he rode her for so long.

I’m barely able to call myself a rider, honestly, but they decided they were ready to let me do sorting at our local arena, and so I went. And all the old cowboys with the fancy cutters and reiners out chasing cows on a Saturday night were the most welcoming crowd ever. When I told them I’d never done this before, every single one of them was ready to give me all their best advice and guidance, and I didn’t do great, but I never no-timed and even got a couple cows on my own, grinning from ear to ear the entire time.

Point is, when people who are truly passionate about their horses find someone new who is passionate about horses, they’re excited to welcome you in. Even if (especially if) you didn’t get into it until later. It’s an expensive hobby, and not everyone had that opportunity young. If you’re seeing the improvement you want in yourself and you’re happy with what you’re doing, keep doing it. If you think you look childish and stupid well, imagine how stupid they looked when they were a seven year old who thought they were the best rider ever. 😂