This last year has been one of great changes for me. I sold Sjapoer, I relocated to Germany to
train and I began to seriously consider my future options in the sport I
love. I have spent the
last 5 amazing years with SJ, training every day, working every day and fitting
in life on the edges. By that I mean,
when I had time I took a class, when I had time I dated, when I had time I
contemplated the vast world beyond my sport.
With the sale of Sjapoer and turning 21, the inevitable transition to
adult life had come upon me. What would
be the best use of my money from selling SJ?
What would be the best use of my time long term? I explored, as my mentor and friend Christine suggested what I wanted. I took some time to be young and explore on
the weekend breaks of my training in Germany. I traveled. I danced. I also explored.
I took more classes online. I researched, and did what always works for
me; I made a pros and cons list. I wanted
to know the full impact of my choices before I made a decision. I don’t jump quickly into anything and
particularly anything this big. I am like my Uncle James and Christine
that way. I like to think about things
from a lot of angles first. During this
process I spoke to my Uncle too. He has
guided me on financial decisions since we opened my stock account over a decade ago. He agreed to match my Sjapoer money to help
me move forward in my career. We had a
family meeting, I admit I have a great support team! I am very lucky. My Uncle came, my Grandma and my
parents. I don’t remember exactly how
this progressed because fate seemed to intervene a bit. But here is the long and short of it. My Uncle James had been buying hunting
property in Michigan and found an amazing equestrian facility. It was a former HJ barn known as Windsong
Stables in Battle Creek. It has a full
size indoor with viewing room, 2 outdoor arenas, 2 barns with 33 stalls, 40 acres, 2
laundry rooms, 3 tack rooms, 2 feed rooms, 2 indoor and 4 outdoor wash racks
and endless beautiful paddocks of green grass.
So we discussed my desire to stay
in the equestrian world forever, my need for a way to generate multiple
potential horses, and also my desire to give back to the sport and the people
that have given me so much. So using my
Uncle’s matching money, I bought it. I
have my own place! As of last weekend
the name has changed to Flyaway stables and 2 big Uhauls and 3 college students
unloaded all my stuff into the barn and house!
I already have plans for some things I want to do to the property, so it
won’t be open to the public for about 6 months, but I hope to be ready for
summer! Also I have contacted Lendon and
Dressage 4 Kids and donated one barn (11 stalls) as a permanent home for D4K
for life! Lendon can use it for any and
all programs she desires! The barn has a
laundry room, tack room, feed room, and direct access to the indoor arena with
a full sound system and viewing room! I
am putting in a special place for you to sit though Lendon so we have to chat
about what you want! Full heat lamps and
comfortable chair, I assume. I also hope
to use it for USDF and USEF events as well. I asked my long-time
friend Jessica Hainsworth to partner with me after her graduation to make
Flyaway stables a premier breeding and training barn! For the next year, while the upgrades are
being done, I will continue to train and ride in Europe. I am genuinely excited
at the endless possibilities this property will give me and hopefully many
other young riders like me! I know this
is a big risk to get a facility to start a long term horse program rather than
to just invest directly into one horse but if I want to have a long term career
in dressage and not just one horse I had to take a big jump. This felt right. The property is beautiful, the city is quaint
and the timing is perfect. Thanks to
everyone who helped me to make this expanded dream a reality!
