Leveling the Playing field

A goal of Meadowthorpe Farm is to encourage more youth to experience horses. To have an opportunity to learn about them, learn from them, and continue to learn and grow moving forward in life. Horses teach invaluable life lessons to people about life, about people, and about oneself. As manager of Meadowthorpe, I could have kept this farm all to myself, done my own thing with my own horses, focused on myself, my riding....gone the adult amateur horse show route. But that's not really me, and that's not the route I'm taking...at least not right now. I want to help introduce more Memphis local kids to  horses for the fun of it, for the learning, and for horses. I want to inspire kids to pursue their horse interests in college-whether as a field of study, on an equestrian team, or as a career choice. I want kids to have more opportunities, like I did growing up locally, to participate in horse events and venues affordably and demonstrate through example that there is not "one model" for experiencing horses.

I'm fed up with the increasing elitism I see happening in our local area, throughout the country, and worldwide when it comes to horses (especially the hunter jumper disciplines). So, I'm using the opportunity God's graced me with and groomed me for to work towards finding more opportunities for average folks & kids to learn about and love horses. I want kids to have more opportunities to go to horse shows and compete. I want kids to have more opportunities to work together with other kids and adults and learn from each other about horses. I want to give adults opportunities to mentor kids  and share their wisdom. Collaboration and learning is a powerful thing. I had these opportunities when I was a kid. Our area had more of this then.

​I'm excited to see the re-emergence of schooling show venues that offer something different and focus on fun and affordability. I'm here to try and help keep this out of the box, alternative, friendly and forward- thinking mindset going, and work with others to "level the playing field" so to speak in our Hunter/Jumper area in order to offer something new, different, and transparent for folks interested. Kids are hungry for it, parents are hungry for it, and truth be told, I think many horse folks feeling "stuck in a rut" are hungry for it too. Inclusion and openness, collaboration, structure, accountability, alternative learning paths, hobbies, and motivators....our kids are begging for these along with parents and our community. We'll see what happens. More to come....