2010 - Lucy Smith

Personal Experience Essay
Three,two, one.He takes offfromacrossthe arena, his hatlying in the dust behind him. I crouch,
muscles clenching. Three,two, one.Up I fly, uncoiling atthe perfectmomentto link arms with Tyler as
he gallops past on Mr. Bill. Tyler pullsme up on over, and I’mon! While riding behind Tyler and his
saddle,the two of us exchange high fives and cheers. Islide off Mr. Bill backwards, and stick the landing.
Wyatt, ourfaithful fan, gives us a “perfectten.”
TheHal Tayloe Memorial Award is designed to help studentsfinancially with independent
summer projects. I won the award my freshman yearformy projectto spend amonth living, learning,
and working underthementorship ofDavid Zebrovious and Stefanie Portman, equine professionals. I
have been an avid hunter-jumperridersince the age ofsix,riding in lessons and competing in shows
withmy own horses yearround. Atthe Circle Z Bar Ranch outside of Pittsburgh, PA, I learned there is
muchmore to running a ranch than riding. As a fifteen year old, I had already spent a few years working
at Stonehouse Stables, where I keptmy personal horse at home. Butthis experience wassomething
totally new. Inmy first week, Istruggled to adaptto the unique rhythmI would need to get up at dawn
and feed, water, clean, and turnouttwenty horses as well as care formymentorstwo young sons Tyler
(10) and Wyatt(9). Afterfinishing chores, I would ride through the evening. My stay giftedme with both
physical and emotionalstrength asI learned tomanage amonth away fromhome and the copious
amounts oflaborrequired by themaintenance of horses.
Thismentorship tookme all overrural Pennsylvania andOhio. The first weekend brought
my teamto an A-RatedHunter-Jumpershow in Swickley,Ohio. I had broughtmy personal horse, an off
the racetrack thoroughbred named Parker.We competed in and won the SpecialHunter division.
Parker’stalent and competitiveness caughtthe attention of a young boy looking for hisfirst horse.
Parker went home with himthat day, and I neversaw himagain. Sending Parker with another person
was one ofthemost difficult experiences ofmy life.Not only was hissale so sudden and unpredicted,
butI wasfar away fromthe securities of home.Harsh asthe lesson was, it delivered its point with
incredible clarity. The professional equine industry doesn’t have time orforgivenessfor attachments. In
ordertomakemoney and continue to advance, onemustselltheirstock attheirrespective peaks.
Another weekend,Dave and Stefanie broughtme to a horse auction. These auctionsfill with horses on
theirlast chance, and not being sold oftenmeans a trip to Mexico or Canada to factories. Most ofthe
animalssentto these auctions are not bad horsesin spirit, butsimply were raised withoutmanners and
respectfor humans.Often,these horses and ponieslose theirlives because ofthe human errorin their
upbringing. Poignantrealitiessuch asthistruly openedmy eyesto the necessity of propertraining to
young horses.The stay was not all work and no play, however. The uniquememoriesI have ofthe ranch
stand out- learning to herd cattle and other variousranch skills on horseback; driving down to the little
town of Fredonia in a golf cart; learning dramatic (and sometimes nerve racking)mounting and
dismounting tricks on the everfaithful and fat pony Mr. Bill;traveling withDave and Stefanie to hunter
jumpershows and the value of amealthat did not come out of a frozen pizza box atmidnight.
Surrounded by the corn fields, Amish barns, goats, horses, and steer, Ifoundmy niche. Fro onemonth, I
had no accessto the Internet ortelevision; yetthere was never a dullmoment at Circle Z Bar Ranch. For
onemonth, all I breathed was hay, horse, and hectic little boys; and I have yetto catch a whiff of
something sweeter.