In classic adult amateur fashion, I often find myself riding after working an 8:30-5; scheduling farrier appointments on lunch breaks; and enjoying a glass of rosé while rewatching the week’s livestream.
I started riding when I was 10, quickly ditching dance and competitive swimming for ponies. For most of my first year in the saddle, I was thoroughly terrified to do anything faster than trot and was a complete brat to my instructors—I distinctly remember having to take my weekly lesson with a different instructor and rolling my eyes at my mom as I trotted by, attempting to post and steer at the same time.
A few years later (and probably much too early), I got my first horse. My mom had a Thoroughbred when she was a teenager and my pony-loving soul brought her back to the sport, so it was no surprise when Smithfields Irish Angel, a then-7-year-old Morgan mare, became part of the family in 2005. While my mom worked out the kinks that came with a green mare that was dubbed “flashy, yet not enough for the saddle seat ring,” my novice riding was reserved for the lesson horses for a few more years. After many more lessons and a solid foundation in dressage for both of us, Angel and I were looking less green, so I took the reins and Miss Blue View, a Thoroughbred mare, was welcomed as my mom’s new mount.
From there, Angel and I went on to top more than a few hunt seat equitation and pleasure classes on the local circuits, 4-H, my high school’s equestrian team, state fairs, and whatever weekend show we found ourselves at—bless my parents for trailering us around summer after summer. Though we only dabbled in the rated Morgan circuit a handful of times—her USEF record is less than a page—she gave me the show experience of a lifetime. Outside the show ring, Angel got me through four years of private, college-prep high school; would jump just about anything I pointed her at; absolutely hated if she was the only horse in the barn; and would stand on the crossties for hours if it meant she was being groomed. I can thank that pony for filling my childhood walls with ribbons and my bookcase with more trophies and silver platters than actual books, but more importantly, she was the first horse that, very clichéd, had my heart.
Because I didn’t have much of a junior career, becoming an amateur by USEF’s ruling wasn’t much of an upset. When it came time to leave for college, Angel stayed behind as I moved a state south, giving my mom another horse to ride and leaving me feeling horse-less. Riding wasn’t about to leave my life though, so I joined my college’s IHSA team and was introduced a bit more to the traditional hunter/jumper world that I had only a peek of during my days in IEA.
The summer after my Sophomore year, I had secured a job as a camp counselor at a barn on Martha’s Vineyard when a lease opportunity opened up at my barn. I had no plans on leasing or buying another horse—let alone as I was about to go live on an island for the summer—but Southern Axcent, an Oldenburg gelding with a resume in the 3’ adult divisions and a bit of stopping problem, was suddenly joining me for the ferry ride. That summer was a game changer and it quickly became apparent that there was no way I could send him back to be sold. Ax became officially mine in August 2013, and shortly after, Breeches and Boat Shoes was born so that my family could stay up to date on our happenings.
I wrapped up my college career in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in Equine Studies paired with a minor in Business and four years in IHSA, three of them as my team’s captain. In that time, Ax traveled back and forth to school with me and to the island twice more for summer escapades, participated in his first and last show as an IHSA horse, taught me how to sit a solid buck, and helped me get over my jumping fears despite his tendency to throw in a nasty stop.
Post college life began with a job at a local equine magazine and a desire to get back in the show ring. Ax and I spent the season in the 2’3”/2’6” Modified (mortified) Adults with plenty of highs—finishing fourth in the medal final and holding back tears mid-victory gallop—to go with the lows—breaking my nose right before the hunter classic, which I rode in with a lovely black eye. The ribbons from 2016’s finals still hang behind my desk as a reminder of how lucky we were.
Unbeknownst to me, that would be our last full season in the show ring—for now, at least. At the first show of the following year, right as I was about to head into the ring, it hit me like a ton of bricks that I didn’t want to be there. Instead, Ax and I spent the spring and summer doing hunter paces and enjoying the pressure-free environment of not prepping for shows. That November he came up lame and a trip to the local equine hospital left even their best vets puzzled—thus being dubbed the Mystery Lameness of 2017.
Now, two years later, Ax and I still haven’t seen the show ring since and spend our days schooling at home, finally finished with rehabbing from the lameness that threw us for a loop but still battling the arthritis that followed. I got a new job in early 2019 at your favorite hunter/jumper association, which came with a decent travel schedule that I love but also takes away some of my riding time in the busy summer months. Add the side hustle that is Terisé M. Cole Photography to the equation, plus a fiancé, and my barn time is limited to three or four days a week.
In classic adult amateur fashion, I often find myself riding after working an 8:30-5, usually as the sun is setting or it is already dark; scheduling farrier appointments on lunch breaks; and enjoying a glass of rosé while rewatching the week’s livestream. According to USEF, I’ve been an amateur for years, so by now, I guess I’ve taken on the persona.
The Working Amateur 