Horses have been a part of my life since I was a little toddler, and I started taking riding lesson with a close family friend at the age of 4. Then when we moved to Japan in 2007 and I wasn’t able to ride anymore because we didn’t live near any horse farms in Higashikurume.

However, I had hope, and soon enough, a few years later we moved to Yokohama where there was a horse park and museum where we lived. At the time I wasn’t old enough to volunteer to work and ride at the horse park, but my sister and I did make frequent visits to the museum in an effort to still have that “connection” that we had been craving.

Finally, when I was in 4th grade and about 10 years old, I applied to work at the horse park in return for lessons on the weekends… and sure enough I was accepted. I spent almost 6 months working at the horse park until my family had to move back to the States, which is when I began competing.

I’ve competed now consistently for the past 3 years in hunter jumper shows and eventing. I’ve ridden everything from a Clydesdale cross, an OTTB, to a quarter horse and it’s made me the rider I am today. This vlog does not represent how most of my shows have been like in the past: there have been refusals, falls, tears, etc. In my opinion, this show went smoothly because I’ve worked hard to get where I am and in the end, I wasn’t caught up in how we placed but cared more about how me and my horse performed as a team.

My advice to you or anyone wanting to get into showing is: do not get caught up in the little things and enjoy the progress you have or will be making because it’s all about having fun and making improvements!