Working as a trail guide I’m often asked, how did you get into this? This is the shortened version of my story:
As a little girl I watched the movie Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron on repeat. For like 6 years straight. Horse themed birthdays, action figures, etc… A typical horse obsessed little girl. My parents knew better than to put me into a riding program because it was just so darn expensive in the So-Cal area. Joining the horse community was intimidating. Thinking it was either something you had to be born into, or be able to afford, I eventually gave up on my horse girl dreams. I became involved with competitive sports until my senior year of high school, but I was still determined to just be around horses.
Luckily I lived near an equestrian community. I found an ad on Next Door for a stable hand to clean stalls & feed horses twice a day and I got the job! My then boyfriend, now husband, tagged along with me. My boss turned out to be a woman who was a life long equestrian who worked for a world famous cutting horse trainer for many years, breaking two year olds. We both proved to be hard working and found favor in her. She taught us the basics of grooming, tacking, and western trail riding. She took us on trail rides and we were amazed at how generous she was with her time and knowledge. We learned all the skills we needed to get a job working on a ranch and she encouraged us to move on in the horse industry.
I had completely fallen in love with horses and working with them. We found an ad on Craigslist for work in Malibu during the pandemic. We started off by mucking stalls, grooming, tacking, & property maintenance. Once again we were blessed to meet people who were willing and passionate about sharing their knowledge of horsemanship with others. The owners of High Horse Malibu, Brian & Lacey (who is also co-founder of Miss Cowboy), trained us up to be trail guides for their business. We worked there most of 2021 through 2022. We lived on the ranch off and on, in a converted camper van. Eager to learn more, we moved back home (to my parents) and adopted a 2 year old green rescue horse. Under the guidance of our friend/ old boss, we trained our new horse Beau, keeping him at her barn, which was the most interesting times as a green (novice) rider, and owning a green horse. We are forever grateful for our friend who was willing to take us on as a project and to go into great detail on how to properly train a horse. It was at this point we really learned how to ride. We offered services in that equestrian neighborhood: exercising, bathing, caring for horses for about six months until I was hired as an assistant for an AQHA western performance horse trainer. As a trainers assistant, I had the opportunity to ride all types of horses, from never being ridden to world champions. I started working part time again at High Horse Malibu in August 2023. My husband and I were given the opportunity to be Ranch Managers at High Horse, so we moved onto the ranch full time with our horse & dog and have been managing their private horseback riding outfit ever since. We’re having a blast, living our best life sharing the joy of horses with the public.
Within four short years, I went from being a complete beginner, knowing nothing, and a wannabe, to training, owning horses, teaching people, and managing a horse business. I hope I have inspired someone who loves horses and doesn’t know where to begin or can’t afford lessons to start by mucking some horse stalls!
I also want to say thank you to Lacey, aka Miss Cowboy. Y’all are paving the way for inclusivity in the horse industry. First with High Horse, a riding outfit that takes complete beginners on rides and offers lessons to those wanting to learn, and now with this platform! You have greatly impacted my life, and I can’t wait to see the community you guys build with this.
XO,
Shayna
@malibu.buckaroo