With every passing day, a new present joins the growing pile beneath my tree, but one person who is stumping me completely when it comes to gift-giving is my trainer. Shopping for horse-people is supposed to be easy for me. After all, I write countless gift-guides each week giving other people suggestions on what gifts equestrians would love. But what do you buy someone who literally has everything? What material object will truly portray my gratitude to her?
My trainer Jen picked me up a little under a year ago after my great epiphany during my first clinic with George Morris. I wanted to attend a rated show, a lifelong dream of mine that many people tick off before they even graduate from leadline. Jen adopted me for a week-long adventure at the World Equestrian Center. When things took an unexpected turn leaving me horseless for the week, Jen went above and beyond to find me a horse to ride so my trip to Ohio wasn’t a “waste.”
While we were unable to secure a mount last minute, I would call that trip anything but a waste. That trip was the start of a great partnership and friendship. Jen included me on every course walk, guided me to better stable management practices and taught me more than I could ever imagine throughout the duration of our trip. I will never forget sitting squished between her two young sons in their car seats, laughing and talking about all of our favorite memories on the way up to Ohio and back home.
Since then, our relationship has only grown stronger. We went from texting here and there to texting every day. From discussions about horse shopping to sharing silly memes, Jen became a staple in my daily life. I began making the three-hour, one-way trek to her stable every weekend just to soak up every ounce of her knowledge that I could and to enjoy her company. Since my riding has grown immensely and, in return, so has my confidence.
The hardest part about being an adult amateur is trying to make everything balance. Work, relationships, family, horses, money, it all gets jumbled up and can sometimes make this horse showing thing pretty tough. The best part about my relationship with Jen is that she goes out of her way to make it all easy. She wants me to succeed. She wants me to love this. She wants me to meet my goals. She wants me to be happy. When life gives me lemons, she chucks those bad boys right back at life and finds a way to solve every problem. Jen has gone above and beyond to help me, in more ways than many trainers would and she does it because she cares.
So what do you buy someone as influential as Jen? What do you buy for someone that says, “hey, thanks for not giving up on me when I forgot to ride straight after the fence for the fourth time in a row?” How do you thank someone for tolerating countless texts about horses for sale… or a saddle for sale… or a trailer for sale? How do you tell someone who has let you cry when you need to and has shut you down when you don’t, just how much they mean to you?
How can I ever tell Jen how confident each “good job” or “niiiiice” made me feel? I am not sure how I am supposed to buy a present that perfectly sums up my thoughts on our late-night chats about horses, kids and everything in between. Jen has literally housed me, fed me and, to her delight, clothed me (in outfits that consist of navy and white rather than pink sparkles, of course). Jen is like a mom, a friend, a teacher, a mentor, a coach and a counselor all wrapped up into one. I haven’t seen a gift section for people of that category on Etsy.
I’m not sure that there is any material possession that could truly express the impact that Jen has made on my life, but I sure am going to try. I think the greatest gift I could give her is to be the best student I can be and to show her just how much her hard work means to me. After all, the greatest gift of all is the gift of not having to yell, “balance up” five-thousand times in one day, right Jen?
Go Jumping.