It started with a lump—then a series of appointments, and finally a phone call. On a cold, snowy February 3, 2022, I was diagnosed with stage 2 triple negative breast cancer. The next few days passed in a haze brought on by anxiety and a strange sort of grief. My calendar quickly filled with appointments that replaced runs and rides I had scheduled to prepare for the Horse Capital Half-Marathon and Spring Bay Horse Trials in early April.

Time became a surreal concept; my life seemed to stall as I started chemotherapy on February 21. Everything happened so quickly, I didn’t have time to fully process what was happening as chemotherapy and its accompanying nausea, aches, and fatigue began to take control. Despite the side-effects, the anxiety, and the depression, I was determined to continue forward on my terms. I just had to accept that those terms would have to change as I learned to accept and adapt to new limitations.

Not only did I learn to accept help, I learned to ask for it. I learned to listen when others told me to slow down, to rest. And, with the support and love of my parents, my boyfriend, and my extraordinary Lucky Dog Eventing family, I learned how to show myself grace. I never quite got used to being told that I was an inspiration or how strong or brave I was.

At first, I didn’t quite understand because, in my mind, I was just doing what was necessary to survive. But, I slowly began to understand that I wasn’t brave because I was diagnosed with cancer or because I was going through treatment. I was brave because I kept working, I kept riding, I kept moving forward and living. It was a type of bravery that was new to me, one that, admittedly, I never expected to know, but one that I am grateful to have found. Now, I can say with assurance that I am brave, and I owe much of that bravery to my Lucky Dog family.

I may have been in the irons competing this past season, but my barn family made it possible for me to compete. Without their endless encouragement and willingness to help groom, braid, tack up, untack, hand-walk, fill hay nets and water buckets, and countless other gestures of support, I would not have had the strength or energy to ride, let alone compete successfully.

But, after completing the Novice 3-Day at IEA Horse Trials at the beginning of June, I had to tap out. I was too exhausted and weak, my body prone to dizziness and deep body aches. My coach took over the ride on my horse, Obi, for the rest of the summer, even running him in his first Training in July. And our Lucky Dog family showed up in every way. Thanks to them, I have video of nearly the entire cross country course. Returning to the barn after that cross country run, I saw what can only be likened to a NASCAR put crew taking care of my beloved horse, pulling boots, unscrewing studs, hosing him off, and offering him water and peppermints.

I had my last chemotherapy treatment on August 8, one month before the Area VIII Championships where Obi and I were entered to compete in the Novice Championships. Over the course of the month, my energy returned, the nausea subsided, and my hair started to grow. A couple of days before Champs, I found a gift bag in my trailer dressing room, and I laughed and cried when I discovered the pink badass shirt, belt, socks, tumbler, and card signed by my entire barn family. The surprise didn’t stop there, though.

On cross country day, my barn family showed up decked out in bright pink badass gear. They were impossible to miss. Seeing my family gathering at cross country warm-up filled me with such warmth and love that I had to fight back tears. I felt loved. I felt seen. I felt invincible. We left the start box to a chorus of cheers and flew through the finish flags to whoops and hollers, and perhaps some happy tears.

In this sport, they say it takes a village. And it’s true. This sport is hard, brutal, even. Without your village—your family—it’s nearly impossible. My family witnessed my lowest lows this year, but they helped me experience some of my highest highs, too. They are not fair weather; they are there to celebrate the wins and mourn the losses. What one of us experiences, we all experience. No one is in this alone. Without this family of badass individuals, I would not have been so strong or nearly as brave.

For the month of October, we’ll be donating 9.5% of sales from our Boobies are Badass Collection to Horses and Hope, whose mission is to increase breast cancer awareness, education, screening and treatment referral among Kentucky’s signature horse industry workers and their families, many of who are uninsured and underserved.

We are from Virginia and we consider ourselves an anomaly because of our unlikely obsession with horses in combination with our family and racial background. From a racial perspective, not only is it unusual to be a young black girl who loves horses, but it is also unusual considering our family background that our parents would have not just one, but two daughters who are absolutely horse crazy. None of our family members have ever been involved with horses.

Our parents don’t know where this love came from at such an early age with no family influence, but it certainly seemed that we were born with a passion for horses. With our parents’ support throughout childhood, we both read tons of books and magazines and watched videos of well-known horse trainers until our parents gave in to the request for a horse, which was a present for Sarah’s eighth birthday. Our second horse came as a gift for Emily at Christmas three years later.

Since then, we have owned several horses during our horse journey, including Allie, Amazing Grace, Genesis, Rowdy, Dancing Shadow, Stella, and Promise. Our current horses are Amazing Grace, Rowdy, Genesis, and Promise. Rowdy is the only gelding in the herd, Amazing Grace was a former rescue horse, Promise is a pony, and Genesis is our youngest horse with the others being in their late teens. Despite the stark differences between all our horses, they all have taught us valuable lessons that we still use today.

We are are 4-H alumni and served as President and Vice President of our county’s 4-H horse club before Emily aged out. We are both members of the United States Pony Club with USPC certifications in all of the certifying disciplines. Emily is currently a delegate of the USPC National Youth Board and is Co-Chair for her Regional Youth Council. Emily is also a certified Open Horse Show Judge.

We started Sisters Horsing Around in 2018 in an effort to put into motion the things our mother had spoken to us about when we were younger, such as how blessed we were to have horses and how not many black children had the same opportunities we did. She would often tell us that she wanted us to remember those in our black community and when we “got big,” meaning make it big in life, she wanted us to provide an opportunity for others to get involved with horses.

Sarah, who was around 9 or 10 years old at the time, responded, “why do we have to wait until we get big?” Because of those conversations, we thought of ways to put that in action and not delay, and the idea for Sisters Horsing Around was born. We have been trying our best since then to provide an opportunity for others to learn about and get involved with horses.

We use our Sisters Horsing Around YouTube channel, website, and social media accounts to educate non-equestrians about the horse world. As passionate horse enthusiasts, we hope that the content we create will help bridge the gap between those outside the horse world and those inside the horse world.

Being first generation horse people, we didn’t have the privilege of having someone hold our hands and guide us as we navigated the equestrian world; we just dove right in. Because of our plunge into the horse world, we had to learn everything firsthand. Now, we want to make it easier for others to get into the horse world. We want to be for others what we wish we had when we first started. We strive to be your equestrian “tour guides.”

When it comes to riding, we both have an understanding of multiple disciplines. We ride Western and English in multiple disciplines in each. Because of our experience in multiple disciplines, we strive to bring awareness about the different disciplines to help dispel the prejudices incurred by misunderstanding. We want to help others see the good in each discipline and are always ready to engage in conversations on the topic.

We also partnered with a 501c3 nonprofit organization called The STAND Foundation headquartered in Washington, DC. STAND is short for Strengthening Thoughts and Nurturing Dreams and the foundation works to reach children and young adults in underserved communities and also endeavors to inspire youth to pursue positive decision-making skills through nature and equine-based programs. Because of our like-minded goals, we joined forces with the organization and actively participate by providing equestrian instruction for the equine programs and camps facilitated by the foundation.

We want others to see what makes the equestrian world so exciting. The horse world is enormous, and we want to explore every inch of it and take you with us on the journey. We want others to experience the joy that one can have with horses and to encourage others to embark on a horse adventure of their own.

If you want to learn more about us you can visit our website, http://www.sistershorsingaround.com/. You can watch our videos on our YouTube Channel, Sisters Horsing Around, and see what we are up to on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

My daughter Rory was a horse girl before she was even born!  By the time I was pregnant, I had owned Louie for almost four years.  I bought him as a 5 year old and produced him from Beginner Novice eventing up through Preliminary.  I knew him like the back of my hand, and I rode through nearly my entire pregnancy.  I swear he could sense I was pregnant because he never put a foot wrong the entire time.  When Rory was born, Louie was the first of our animals she met when we got home from the hopsital and he was instantly smitten with her.

Our horses live at home, so from that first moment meeting each other, Louie and Rory spent a lot of time together. Even when she could barely walk or talk, she would insist on accompanying me to do the barn chores—mixing grain, feeding, grooming, and cleaning stalls.  On the morning of her 2nd birthday, in January 2020, she sat on Louie’s back and sang “Happy Birthday to Louie.” It may have been her birthday, but she loves him so much she wanted to share it with him!  That day, we had a fun brithday party for her at home where she got to share Louie and our other animals with her friends.  At the party, a nurse friend of mine commented to me how it was interesting that Rory’s eyes were two different shades of blue.  I didn’t think much of it at the time because her eye color was constantly changing and we still fully expected her to end up with brown eyes like both my husband and myself.

Two days later at her 2 year check up with her pediatrician, Rory’s appointment was going well until the nurse couldn’t obtain a reading with the vision scanner.  When her doctor came in, he couldn’t either and I mentioned what my friend had said about her eye color.  He took a closer look at her eyes and suggested we see a pediatric opthalmologist immediately.  But later that evening, he called me and said to skip the opthalmologist and go directly to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.  At that point, I knew we were dealing with something serious.

We spent a few days at CHLA where Rory had an MRI and Exam Under Anesthesia (EUA) before she was officially diagnosed with Retinoblastoma, a very rare pediatric eye cancer of the retina, in her right eye. The tumor was so large that it was filled nearly the entire retina and was staged at Group E, the most advanced category.  While we were given the choice to try systemic chemotherapy to shrink the tumor and possibly save the eye, the probability that her vision would return was so low and the probability that the cancer would spread was too high, we decided it was not worth the risk and chose to have her eye removed immediately.  Had the cancer escaped the eye, it would have traveled on a direct path to her brain and bone marrow.

A week later, Rory’s right eye was enucleated.  It was an outpatient procedure and we were home by that same evening.  Rory bounced back so quickly, she was already helping me with barn chores again the next day! Just over a month later she received her prosthetic eye, which she will continue to be fitted for the rest of her life, but it doesn’t bother her one bit.

The pandemic started just a few days after she received her prosthetic.  I am grateful for the extra time we’ve been given together when everything shut down.  Rory and I spent hours together everyday outside with the horses.  Louie truly helped both Rory and I process the trauma of her diagnosis and treatment, and the bond the two of them formed will never be broken.

Now, Rory and Louie are more attached to each other than ever.  She rides him a couple times a week both in the arena and out on the trails, and has been learning to trot.  She begrudgingly still shares him with me while we continue to pursue our dressage goals, but she has made it very clear that he is “Rory’s Louie” and will officially belong to her someday!

For the month of October 2021, we will be donating 9.5% of our sales from the Louie Collection to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles Retinoblastoma Program.

To learn more about Retinoblastoma, please visit: www.knowtheglow.org

The mission of the Optimum Youth Equestrian Scholarship is to provide opportunities for youth aged 17-27 from marginalized communities to become involved or stay involved in horse sports through financial awards and mentorship focusing on not only horsemanship and equestrian pursuits, but also career planning and education.

We believe that opportunities for riding, training, and showing are not easily attainable to individuals facing socioeconomic and accessibility hurdles as well as overt and passive discrimination based upon their race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Together we seek to bridge this gap through the sharing of knowledge, opportunities, and solidarity.

THE FOUNDERS:

SHAQ BLAKE

I am the author of theblackequestrian.com , a blog created to chronicle my journey as a black adult beginner rider chasing my dream of becoming a showjumper. I began riding in the summer of 2018. In the past two years I have been a working student and a consistent lesson student. I bought my dream horse, a 5-year-old off the track Thoroughbred named Bear in February of 2020 and we are growing together to make our debut in the hunter and jumper ring. As a rider of colour in a predominantly white sport, I use my blog and social media platforms to highlight and uplift other riders of colour as well as to touch on ways to encourage more diversity and inclusion in the equestrian community.

MANDY COLLIER

I am a mental health researcher by day and an equine massage therapist by night. Horses have been an all-consuming passion for as long as I can remember but riding lessons and horse shows were hard to come by until I joined the University of Pittsburgh’s equestrian team in college. This opportunity was a wonderful springboard into the equestrian life and through my connections on the team, I found the barn where I would meet my heart horse, Charlie Brown. I hope to act as a conduit for other passionate young equestrians to find opportunities that enable a joyful, passionate life full of aspirations and, of course, horses.

JACQUELINE ELY

I began competing with horses at a young age in 4-H and then with the intercollegiate equestrian team at Indiana University of Pennsylvania where I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Dietetics and Nutrition. I continue to start young horses under saddle and re-train problem horses through my business, Ely Equine LLC. I develop all of my own competition horses from the ground up, often raising or buying youngsters to bring along. I enjoy riding all disciplines and any breed of horse. My main passion however is Dressage and Working Equitation. I feel we never know enough and can always gain more tools for our toolbox when working with horses.