Meet Mary Coleman, HN’s newest columnist

We loved this young dressage rider’s “Your Turn” submission last week so much that we invited her to write a weekly column. Today, Mary introduces herself.

From Mary:

I’m not very good at introductions. Perhaps it’s just my slightly reserved and quiet nature, but I just have never been particularly talented at putting myself out there. But I guess in this case, it would be impolite for me not to introduce myself and at least tell you a little bit about myself.

Well Hi! I’m Mary. I’m young by most people’s standards, but I’ve never let age or people’s apparent “expectations” of what I could or could not do stand in my way from accomplishing my goals. Some of you may have caught the post I wrote last week, “Making Your Dream Horse Come True,” and therefore may (or may not) remember that I am the crazy girl that bought her first horse at 15.

Awww, my baby girl. She’s a Paint and her show name is My Favorite Mistake (maybe I’ll tell the story behind that name sometime), but everyone just calls her Missy. I’ve owned her for about three years now, and she is without a doubt my best friend in the entire world. Yes, that sounds stupid, and yes I do have “human” counterparts, but Missy, she’s just different in ways that only other people with horses could only begin to understand. I love her like nothing else in the world.

I did not always, though. I botched out first introduction pretty badly by completely turning my nose at her. You see, before she belonged to me, she belonged to the lady I worked for, who bought her from some people who had let her get pretty sad-looking. Skinny, rainrot, the whole deal.

The first time I saw her, I pitied her, but other than that I felt no attachment. I LOVED another little mare and I foolishly thought my heart only had room for one horse. I was kind of stupid.

And then one day, I had the opportunity to really get to know Missy, and I did, in fact, fall in love pretty quickly. That was just about six years ago… and the rest, well it’s all our wonderful history. We’ve had many adventures: trail rides, fun shows, camp outs, lessons, clinics. This summer, however, is an exciting first. Our first, actual, show season. I love dressage and it turns out my pony does too. I’m pretty excited for what the future holds!

So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, never let your first impressions of a horse completely ruin what could be a very happy ending. Said horse might just be the one you’ve waited your entire life for (or it could be a bucking idiot, but that’s besides the point).

And here’s some pictures of Missy looking cute after our latest ride…

About the Author: Mary Coleman is a young equestrian with a passion for for dressage. Her partner in crime is a 9-year-old Paint mare named “Missy.” She writes her own blog about the triumphs and trials of being young, horse-crazy, and having to balance both high school and working to pay for her passion at www.simplyhorse-crazy.blogspot.com.