Category Archives: Horse

Horse stories that relate to business

THE LITTLE QUARTER HORSE THAT COULD

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Justine 20101

Justine 20101

At the end of 2009, one of my horses colicked and died. She was a beautiful eleven year old Westphalen mare, and I had imported her from Germany in 2003. It was tragic, but fortunately happened quickly; it came on so fast there was no time to transport her to the clinic for surgery; she died within a few hours.

I was devastated, but with horses, in order to experience the triumphs and happy times, you have to be prepared to accept some of the difficult times as well.

I only keep two horses at home, so my other horse was left without a buddy. I decided to find a companion animal, nothing fancy, but something I could train and perhaps sell later on. I wasn’t too concerned about having another competition horse; any time spent in the saddle translates to more knowledge.

I looked around locally, and nothing stood out. My friend mentioned she had a Quarter Horse that was currently in reining training, and the horse didn’t show talent for it. She was going to bring her back home and just put her out in pasture. I decided to have a look to see if she would suit me.

She arrived at my house, and my first thought was how pretty she was. She was also very small compared to my warm bloods, but being a Quarter Horse, she was wide-bodied and even though I am 5’7” she was a good fit for me.  She was four years old at the time. Her name was Justine.

I started riding her and immediately noticed something special about her. Now I didn’t have high expectations for her. She was downhill built and moved like a sewing machine. But she was so sweet and willing, and I found myself looking forward to coming to the barn because every time she saw me she nickered loudly. And wow, what a quick learner she was! At age four, I had her doing all the first level dressage moves in a few months. Her canter was a highlight too, like a rocking horse.

Again, since I only had the two horses at home, I decided to bring her along to the shows with me. She was for sale, as her owner was having health problems and couldn’t keep her. So I figured getting her out and showing her would help with the sales process.

She had an amazing year. She almost always scored in the 60’s, and placed in most of her classes. She would go toe to toe with fancy warm bloods and hold her own. My other horse showed in the advanced classes, and preparing for those would stress me out. With her, I could just relax and have fun. It was a nice contrast from the pressure I normally felt when I showed.

She helped ease the sadness of losing my other horse. I was so amazed at how she tried, she never let me down. She didn’t have the natural talent of the warm bloods, but she would put 110% effort in every time. She belonged out there.  I try not to be overly dramatic, but it was almost like she had been sent to me for a reason. I never pondered that too much, all I knew was that I liked her and she brought me joy.

At the end of the season, I had another horse I brought into the barn to start, so I sent Justine back to her owner. I was satisfied with our season together, and thought it was time for both of us to move on.

Justine came back into my life a little over a year later. Another chapter began, and I will share that story in future posts.

THINK LIKE A MENTOR

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You may not know it, but you are influencing others all the time. I remember being at a horse show and talking to someone I’d known for about 20 years. We reminisced on what we were doing all those years ago, and she told me how she and her friend would always watch me ride my dressage tests, that they were so impressed with my riding and my horse. At the time, I was one of the only people showing in brown tack, and her friend was inspired by that and encouraged to use her brown tack too. This was over 20 years ago, and I never knew this.

In talking with someone else I’d recently met, she told me she’d always shown horses, but kept to herself; however she remembered me vividly, complimenting me on my riding and that she could tell how hard I worked, and couldn’t believe I wasn’t a professional. This is someone who I had been around for many years, and never met, and yet she knew so much about me. I was honored.

I meet quite a few people on the show circuit, I like to make new friends and encourage people to learn more about dressage. My mom called to tell me that her friend had met some young girls at the grocery store, mentioned that I rode, and told them about some success I had at a recent show.  The girls said they weren’t sure if they knew me, and walked away. A few moments later they came back and said that yes indeed, they did know me, they had even seen me at that particular show, and that I was so nice to them.

Even though this had just happened, I couldn’t remember interacting with those girls. But it made me so happy to know that I had left a positive impression. I try to always have a smile on my face and be ready to lend a hand. Showing can be stressful, and I’ve had my share of it. If someone forgets a piece of equipment, needs a towel fetched, or a test read, I try to be there.

It is very similar in business. You are always influencing those around you. If you are a manager, it is important to display a kind and helpful attitude toward the people you manage. It can literally change their life. Many times I would hire someone with great expectations, and for whatever reason, they would underperform. I felt responsible to help them, after all I decided to hire them, and I was ultimately responsible for the outcome.

I would meet with them, and come up with a progress plan, with actual goals they had to accomplish. It was important to do this in a non-confrontational way. I didn’t want to lecture them, I asked questions to determine the source of the problem and then it was up to me to take steps to fix it.

Whether this is more difficult than simply firing the person and moving on is hard to know. What I’ve found is that by developing an action plan and having regular meetings to discuss progress, one of two things can happen. They either improve, or they realize this job isn’t for them and look for another job.  This will happen in a relatively short period of time, normally 2-3 weeks.

I’ve rarely had to fire anyone.  If they start performing up to standards, I am right there to compliment them on their progress and increase their responsibilities. If they don’t, they start thinking about their skills, abilities, and goals and that motivates them to make a change. Leaving their current job might be the best thing for them, and it’s even better when they make the decision on their own.

When someone comes into my office and announces their resignation, but they are glowing with pride at finding a new job that fits what they want, it is good for both of us. Even though it didn’t work out for me, they learned valuable skills that will serve them later. It is a good feeling to know you contributed to a positive outcome for someone else. And then you can move on to your next opportunity.

HORSES TAUGHT ME HOW TO REALIZE SUCCESS IN BUSINESS

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2013 Region 6 Championships

2013 Region 6 Championships

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved horses. I think I’ve ridden a horse almost every day for the last 30 years. When I was a kid I would go to the barn and hang out all day, hoping someone would let me ride their horse. Even when I had my own, I was still begging people to let me train theirs. To me, there’s nothing better than being in the saddle.

The last 20 years I’ve spent riding dressage horses. It can best be described as ‘horse ballet.’ This is a labor-intensive and largely unrewarding sport. It takes 5-7 years to train a horse from basics to the Olympic level of Grand Prix. Most horses don’t make it. You really have to pursue dressage because you love it. They say it takes 2 lifetimes to achieve a real understanding of dressage, and I believe it. Whenever I think I know it all, something comes along and changes it, brings me back, makes me feel like a beginner again.

The only reason I pursued a business degree, and became a CPA was because I thought that would be a well-paid career that would allow me to pursue my passion of riding. It has rewarded me with the financial means and flexibility to follow my dreams.

I approach my business career the same way I approach my horsemanship. I always strive for excellence. Early in my career, I was hired on as an accounting clerk at several different private companies. The accounting departments would be large when I started, and then as time went on, people left. They weren’t replaced.  I picked up their job duties, produced outstanding results, and earned promotions. I managed to work the same amount of hours, sometimes even less.

My superiors would notice. I wasn’t always rewarded monetarily, but they were very flexible when I asked for time off to ‘do my horse stuff’ and just told me ‘whatever you want as long as you get your work done.’  It meant so much to me. I always felt I was fairly compensated for my work, I was doing what I loved, and I thought life couldn’t get any better.

Over time I’ve come to recognize my superior organization skills as a valuable asset.  I hope to use this blog to share some of my experiences, usually through a story about my horses. Accounting tends to be dry and technical, we like our lists and our procedures. I want it to be dynamic and fun, and I want to help people become more organized so they also have the time to pursue their passion.

My horses have brought me so much joy and contentment in my life. Of course there are heartbreaking setbacks, and times when I get tired and want to give up, but I keep on. It is truly something wonderful.