What is that popular catch phrase these days?  Oh, yes.  “The struggle is real”.  It is certainly a catchy saying.  But for people who own horses in rural places without the luxury of a nice barn that has an indoor riding arena, the struggle truly is real.

I have always ridden year round.  No matter if I was as hot as an Arizona summer or as cold as a Rocky Mountain February.  I have always had the ability to ride year round.  I have paid premiums wherever I am at to have the ability to ride year round.  In other words, I have always trained or boarded at places that have indoor facilities if the weather gets bad in the winter.  Except here.  In rural Nebraska.

Everyone thinks that because its “rural” that it automatically accommodates horses and their riders.  Nothing can be farther from the truth.  The winters are bitter, bitter cold here and the closest indoor riding arena is in a town in our neighbor to the South, Colorado.  It took me almost two years to just find a place to board my horse that wasn’t just a pasture.  We have an arena, that only I use, because although there are a few other boarders, they never ride, and because of that it is covered in weeds and I have to beg for it to be groomed every few weeks.  Seriously.  Two years to find a place that had an arena, a nice pen with shelter, a place to park my trailer, and fed twice a day and cleaned once a day.  To me, I guess that was pretty basic, basic boarding stuff.  But out here it is the cream of the crop.

Not saying the place is bad by any means, just not at all what I am used to.  And for someone who wants to compete and ride year round, it’s a nightmare up here.  We got our first “snow” today, and although the snow is not so bad, the 35mph winds and 50mph gusts, are bad.  It is impossible to even consider loping her out when it is that cold. The wind chill drops a 40* day to a “feels like” of 19*. And so it will be for the rest of the week, more or less.  People out here don’t really ride in my book.  It seems everyone has a horse, but they ride a handful of weekends a year and that’s it.  I very much so consider riding an art and a sport, not just a “hobby” and it blows my mind that people don’t ride their horses out here.  And because there is no demand, there are no facilities.  Making me the odd ball out and truly making the idea of riding year round miserable, if not impossible.

I hope to be in a position one day that truly allows me to ride year round again.  But until then, I’ll continue to do what I can, when I can, because I can’t help but ride.  I just cannot put it down for six months out of the year to pick it back up in the spring.  My brain is not wired that way.  Between weather, lack of facilities and the dreaded daylight savings time, the struggle truly is real.

Cheers!