300 and Still Growing

This one is pretty special.

Mirren has officially joined Dale Rosa Equine’s 300 Hour Club, and when I think about the rider who first walked into our program compared to the horsewoman she is becoming today… 300 hours doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story.

Mirren was never the kid who came in thinking she knew everything. Honestly, confidence was one of the biggest things we had to build.

She had to learn to trust the horse underneath her.

Then she had to learn to trust herself.

And sometimes, that second one is a whole lot harder.

Over these 300 hours, I’ve watched her become stronger, braver, more independent, and much more thoughtful in the saddle. She has learned that riding isn’t just about making a horse do something. It’s learning to feel when something is right, recognize when something is wrong, understand why it happened, and figure out how to communicate better the next time.

And then came Maverick.

If there were ever two souls who needed a little confidence in each other, it might have been those two.

Maverick wasn’t handed to Mirren as a finished, push-button horse. He was still rebuilding himself too. He needed conditioning. He needed patience. He needed consistency. He needed someone willing to learn alongside him.

Mirren became that person.

Together, they have learned barrels and poles. They’ve jumped. They’ve hauled. They’ve gone to rodeos. They’ve worked through the awkward rides, the hard rides, the frustrating rides, and those incredible rides where suddenly everything you’ve been working toward clicks.

And somewhere along the way, the timid girl and the horse who needed a chance started becoming a team.

That is what makes these 300 hours matter.

They represent lessons, free rides, sweat, frustration, dirt, chores, mistakes, breakthroughs, and probably a few moments where she wondered if she could actually do what I was asking her to do.

Spoiler alert: she could.

Mirren has also learned one of the biggest things we try to teach at Dale Rosa Equine: being a horsewoman happens outside of the saddle, too.

It’s caring for your horse. Cleaning his stall. Paying attention when something feels different. Understanding his body and behavior. Showing up when the work isn’t exciting. Learning how your choices affect the animal depending on you.

That’s horsemanship.

Three hundred hours ago, we were building a rider.

Today, I’m watching a horsewoman emerge.

And knowing Mirren, this is nowhere close to the end of her story.

Congratulations on 300 hours, Mirren.

I am incredibly proud of how far you’ve come, but even more excited about how far you still have to go.

Keep showing up. Keep asking why. Keep doing the hard things.

You and Maverick have already proven just how much can change when two beings are given the time, patience, and opportunity to grow together.