An epiphany can also be defined as, "a moment of sudden revelation or insight."
The name of my barn is Epiphany Farm. I'm often asked how I came up with that name, so, today being Epiphany, I thought I would share my story.
I grew up riding and showing horses and when I was ready for college, my parents encouraged me to get a good degree and a good job so that I could afford to have horses on the side. School always came easy to me. I was a strong student and I made good grades, so I decided to follow that plan.
I got a bachelors degree and then a masters degree. I rode on my school's IHSA team and showed my personal horse while an undergraduate student, but I didn't major in equine science or any other horse-related field.
After graduate school I was offered a well-paying job in my field out in Los Angeles, California. So off I went with my amateur horse, Nick, in tow.
I loved my new career and was making good money, but I was working such long hours that I didn't have time to ride my horse. I kept him at a nice full-care, full-training facility and my trainer rode him regularly while I sat in an office all day. Basically, I felt like I was working all the time to pay the bills and she was having all the fun, lol.
After a couple years of this arrangement I simply wasn't happy, and I knew the only solution was to work with horses full-time. But the realization that I wanted a career in the equine industry wasn't my epiphany. I had known that all along.
My epiphany was that I was capable of actually doing it. You see, I was very fortunate growing up. I always had nice horses (not super expensive, just nice and kind and forgiving) as well as very knowledgeable trainers who did things the right way, proper horsemanship from the ground up, no shortcuts or gadgets. As a result, I enjoyed a degree of success as a junior and amateur rider. (on a side note, in my old age I've started to realize it was no coincidence that my horses were nice, kind, and forgiving because my trainers were knowledgeable and did things the right way.)
But back to my story, I was in awe of my trainers and never thought I would ever be as good as they were. My epiphany occurred after a phone conversation with my IHSA coach from college. I held my breath as I told her of my desire to start my own farm, fully expecting her to patiently explain all the reasons why I shouldn't do it. But her reaction was something to the effect of, "well duh, I can't believe you haven't done it sooner." Whew, what a relief. So with her blessing off I went. Walking away from a good paying job in a growing field to start a horse farm. I've never looked back and never been happier.
Happy Epiphany!
Amanda Garner is an Interscholastic Equestrian Association (IEA), Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), and Georgia Hunter Jumper Association (GHJA) steward, schooling show judge, head coach of the University of North Georgia IHSA Equestrian Team, and owner of Epiphany Farm, LLC in Dahlonega, Georgia. She is also a member of the IEA Board of Directors and the author of "A Parent's Guide to the Interscholastic Equestrian Association."
If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to like and share on Facebook.
Thanks! --Amanda
No comments:
Post a Comment