Karli is the Winter 2022 Eternal Student Lesson Award, sponsored by Optimum Equine.
My name is Karli Davis, I’m 22 years old, currently residing in St. Petersburg, Fla., and I am a senior at the University of South Florida with plans to graduate Fall 2022. I was introduced to horses in elementary school when I was about 9 or 10 years old. There was another girl in my class who was already involved with horses, and I really wanted to be her friend because of that. I don’t remember what made me want to get into horses prior to her, but that girl was the match to the fuse. One conversation led to another, and pretty soon I was taking lessons.
My current riding goals are focused on Natural Horsemanship. I want to learn how to establish a partnership with a horse, no matter if it’s just a respectful working relationship, like coworkers, or as deep as inseparable friends who are eager to be with each other every second of every hour. I want to understand his language and signals. I want to learn how to work with him and talk to him. Riding is the simple part. I want to connect with a horse’s mind and heart, not his back. Once I get his heart, the rest of him will follow. My secondary goal is learning Western Pleasure. My previous lessons at other facilities have been focused on some interesting combinations of riding (ever heard of Wanglish? Western English?), but none have been specialized in one area. I went through a lot of trainers early on at one of the first barns I started at. With each new trainer, I had to work from the ground up again as we got to know each other. As a result, for a couple years I didn’t really learn anything new. I did develop a killer seat, though. Now, I’m slowly getting back in the saddle and working on achieving that great seat I once had. This time, I’d like to focus on one style of riding. Perhaps in the future I’ll move onto something else like barrel racing or show jumping, as those areas of riding interest me, too.
My future ultimate goals are to own a horse, and to be so comfortable in my knowledge of horses that I’m confident enough to try and work with him on my own. Teamwork goes a long way in the horse world. Everyone at the barn helps each other where they can, from answering a simple question to discussing any problem areas they’re facing. I don’t expect to have all the answers, and I’m fine with that. I’d never shun a lesson or an opportunity to learn something new once I’ve hit my goal, but I want to be confident and competent enough to know that I can try to help myself and my horse should no one be available. You learn how to drive before you buy your first car. Currently, I’m still at “stage one.” I’m slowly learning the 7 games in Natural Horsemanship with an amazing trainer and her horses, whom I have worked with in the past, and working on my seat and balance after being out of the saddle so long and inconsistently.
However, staying in the horse world isn’t easy. I fell out of it for years, only riding off and on when I had the money to do so. Lesson prices began to creep higher, and pretty soon spending $200-$300 a month was becoming harmful to my finances. My mental health is the biggest detriment to staying involved with horses. When I first fell out of it, I was hospitalized for a while for depression and suicidal thoughts. I stopped riding for about 5 or 6 years even though horses made me so happy. My depression had such a strong grip on me that I couldn’t get back to what I loved.
In December 2021, I reached out to one of the old barns I rode at to get in touch with the trainer there. She specializes in Natural Horsemanship. I remember her first demonstration to me and my mother years ago when we first stopped by to ask about lessons. That memory has stuck with me for years. Reaching out was hard for me to do. I worried she wasn’t there, or had forgotten me. She was still teaching, and I was very relieved to know she remembered me. Being back at the barn has done wonders for my mental health, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure I don’t fall out again.