The Offhanded Equestrian

As I was starting this blog, I realized I had one problem, well several actually. lol. The first being 1. I have no idea how to keep a blog, or where to start. And 2. what does one name a blog? Several months ago, I'd discovered a fun and coy play on words and thought "if I ever start a blog, that'll be what I call it," and I made the mistake of thinking I would actually be able to remember it. As you'll learn sooner or later, I have a diminished short-term memory from a car accident back in September of 2019. So, needless to say, as I was trying to recall the name, I couldn't. whoops.

This blog was almost called "Adventures in Oddity," and I do still like that name, but thankfully a day or two after I stopped desperately trying to recall the cute name I'd thought of months back, it slammed into my consciousness one afternoon as I was in the middle of work (thanks mind). And so "The Offhanded Equestrian" was christened and this blog was born. Now you might be wondering why "The Offhanded Equestrian" is such a fantastic play on words (maybe not, but just roll with it, ok)? That would be for two reasons. Firstly, it's important to know the definition of offhanded. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines offhanded as "done or made without previous thought or preparation." This is fitting as I had no way of knowing that at the age of 18 I would become an amputee, and even less of an idea it would be the result of a traumatic injury, and therefore, I transitioned into that segment of my life with very little thought or preparation. Secondly, offhanded is a fun play on the fact I only have one hand. The original concept I was trying to recall was "On the offhand," as a twist of "on the forehand" kind of a concept, but it wasn't as fun, or catchy. Plus, it first slammed into my head as the offhanded equestrian, and I gotta hand it to myself, that was much better. Perhaps you might also be wondering what one more horse-crazed woman has to add that could be of any value to your life? You and I both my friend, you and I both. lol. In all reality, with this blog I hope to add a little light-heartedness to an otherwise tense reality that many of us find ourselves in and I hope that along the way I might be able to help inspire and encourage those going through similar situations.

Back in 2011, I started my first blog, if we can call it that, on CaringBridge, as a sort of catalog of experiences on this journey. I wanted to be able to document what it was like for someone going through the process of becoming an amputee. As I started out I had learned that there were no good references and not a lot of resources and really not that many people you could talk to. Most of the people I was originally connected with, I cut ties with almost immediately as they had developed a cynical and victimized outlook on life over time and I did not care to have that sort of influence on my life and outlook of my situation. I also didn't want anyone, or anything, setting limits on me, or my abilities and set out to challenge every limit that was, and has been placed on me since. I have imported these first excerpts into the Archives section of this blog. To give you fair warning, these are raw and unedited and could probably be considered graphic at times, and there is some unfiltered language, but as I said, I wanted a realistic account and more often than not that blog was my way of coping and my way of voicing things I didn't know how to tell anyone else. Read these at your own discretion and curiosity. I'm hoping to utilize this blog as an educational and helpful resource, where I can detail things and techniques I'm learning and working through in the hopes that someone might be able to glean something of value in their own journey. I've had to learn to adapt as an equestrian with the use of only one hand mostly on my own. I've had the blessing of some wonderful mentors who have poured countless hours into me, even when I might not have realized it at the time. I've often fallen back on some of the lessons I learned even though at the time, I wasn't aware they were lessons. The time and support these people poured into me, and the faith they had to believe in me when no one else really did is immeasurable. I would not be even close to half the horsewoman I am without them. I've also had the invaluable support and encouragement from a very dear friend, whom without her, I doubt I would push myself near as hard as she inspires me to. Maybe one day I could be the caliber rider that she inspires and believes me to be. Everyone needs someone like that in their life.

Up until the start of Sars-Cov-2 (I'm a microbiologist, so will use it's proper name here), I might have kept myself a little too busy for any one sane person. I worked a full-time job as well as having owned and operated my own small restaurant and catering company which supported a couple employees. We were extremely successful, which was a blessing that brought about it's own set of challenges. Between building a successful business and trying to start a successful career, this left little time for improvements and other pursuits in riding and as both my business and career grew, my time at the barn diminished. I was lucky if I had enough left at the end of the week to sneak a quick ride around the arena, and that was if I didn't have events to manage.

In September 2019, I went with my friend to an Eventing fun show in Missoula, MT to take photos and be ground support and I ended up falling in love with the idea of the sport and the people. I figured if I were going to be at these types of things more in the future, it might be fun to play as well, considering my friend and I would never be competing at the same level. (I've no desire to do anything super high, I'm happy at 12". lol). The people were so uplifting and supportive and welcoming and I decided I wanted some of that. So my friend and I found my first jumping saddle at a pawn shop in Bozeman a few weeks later and between a consignment shop and a few extras from her collection, I was set. It didn't take long before we were getting Blue over some poles and discovered that my cow pony loves to fly. Turns out I'm still not too sure about it, but it is fun :) Then in the beginnings of 2020, as we were gearing up for our best year yet with the restaurant, Covid emerged on the global radar. I'd already made it a point to be riding every day as our restaurant was on our first ever winter hours trial, catering only, which was a huge weight off my shoulders, as I often ended up working closing shifts after work throughout the winter. By April, Montana was under lockdown, with all gatherings and events canceled indefinitely, but outdoor activities were strongly encouraged, so there was no limit to riding and I suddenly found myself with lots of time to work on all the things I'd put off for years. My friend had moved down to Dillon due to Covid and I was able to snag some lessons here and there, and we were steadily starting to see improvements. By July, we had permanently closed our restaurant after having lost two years of catering orders and then having to navigate the new restrictions put in place as the state opened back up. Our little (literally) restaurant's storefront couldn't feasibly bring in enough customers daily with the new distancing requirements, not to mention limits to gathering sizes, to make the numbers work to stay open, so after a brilliant four-year run, we made the hardest decision we've ever made, and closed our doors. Definitely didn't see that one coming.

And so that brings us to the here and now, and this blog. Despite the unforeseen blows, Covid has been a blessing in disguise in many ways. I've been using the time I've been gifted to pursue dreams I've had on the backburner for years as I chased my business and career. I'm looking forward to developing this blog and sharing these experiences with you! If you've read this far, thank you and welcome to The Offhanded Equestrian!

Courtney