Growing up on the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, in the outer suburbs of Los Angeles, horses and cattle weren’t what you'd see or even hear about. Like many girls in this community, I was born with an irrational love for horses and a deep longing to own one someday—it's just something you can’t turn off, and I had a My Little Pony collection to prove it! As a kid, I’d always hear stories of my dad’s childhood and our family’s history in cattle ranching back in Mexico. My uncle even tamed a bull when it was young, and he became gentle enough to ride like a horse once he became fully grown. Hearing these stories, contrasted with life in Los Angeles, made me feel so far removed from my family’s history, especially since I never had the opportunity to visit their ranch myself. Now as an adult, I realize that what originally drew me to the western lifestyle mirrors exactly what my older relatives saw in it as well; a unique bond with animals and a way to connect to what really matters in life.
Flash forward to life post-college: the transition from being a care-free college student to a young adult working full-time was a very difficult one—an experience I think many people in their twenties tend to share. Combined with a breakup, I felt a strong desire to do some soul searching to find things that made me truly happy. So, I began to reconnect with the things I loved in my childhood, and besides my big crush on David Beckham, all paths led right back to being a horse girl. With the money I earned from my corporate job, I decided to drive out to a stable that I had looked up earlier and try to catch someone who worked there. One conversation later, I took my first riding lesson, and the minute I hopped in the saddle, I was hooked! That was almost two years ago now, and nothing has changed.
I’m currently learning how to barrel race at a stable run by women, and it’s such an encouraging and friendly atmosphere. My current riding teacher, also in her twenties, had learned how to ride as a child, even though none of her family did. During one of our trail rides, she told me, “Once you feel the high of riding, it's impossible to stop.” I couldn’t agree more. Horses themselves are such beautiful, gentle, and healing animals that it's hard not to fall in love with them. That's why I truly believe that despite how you were raised or where you come from, the desire to ride is just something you’re born with, and that has held true for most people I've met in the equestrian community.
Where I come from, it can often feel like a challenge to find people who share the same interests as me. I’ve even considered applying to work at ranches or work-away farms to gain experience and meet others with the same passion as mine. And bless all of my best friends' hearts for entertaining my country-girl hobbies. They've let me drag them to all the country bars that L.A. has to offer, go out to the rodeos in Arizona, and encourage them to wear western-styled clothes. Finding a community that also shares a love for horseback riding, exploring the outdoors, and living a more unconventional life is something that I’ve been looking for a while now. That's why I am so excited to be a part of the Miss Cowboy Club, because despite growing up as a city girl, I have never felt more at home than on the back of a horse riding through a trail. I hope to find a community of girls who want the same thing!
Written by,
Arianna Medina