If you would like to make a donation, click on the Donate button! Once inside the link, you may type Shayla's Dream Catcher in the "Payment For" section. Thank you again.I am a person driven by passion, love, and freedom. Enough said.
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...a way will be made.I am your typical American girl. I grew up in the suburbs of Orlando, FL with hard-working parents who were teachers. My love of horses has always been there since as early as I can remember. Getting to where I am today was uphill and in the dark. At that age, I didn’t even know that people rode horses or what an equestrian was! Well, everything worked itself out as my parents made it possible for me to take lessons as early as kindergarten. I remember my first lesson was at this very fancy farm with a man named LeGrande. At the young age of 4 the place appeared mysterious and magical to me. It was a world that I had absolutely no preconception about. At that moment, my love of horses transformed from plastic ponies to real feeling and breathing beings.I ended up training at a peaceful farm with large grassy fields, and that’s where I developed my confidence in riding and my relationship with horses. That’s where I fell in love with Llecta, a horse who helped me through many difficult times in my adolescence. She really was a great friend. After school everyday, I went to visit her and she became my favorite friend and my greatest equine teacher. All the while, my parents still worked to help me to pay for lessons while I began acting and modeling to help supplement for lessons and training related expenses. My heart was broken in two when I discovered after school one day that Llecta had been sold. I searched for her for hours on the 12 acre property only to find that she wasn’t there or coming back. She had been sold to a good farm and family in Jamaica. It still makes me sad to think about it today.At that point, my dream almost died, because I was also graduating from high school. I felt that I had to make a serious choice. On some level, I felt that I had to choose between academics and riding horses; a problem that many horse lovers and serious riders encounter. Yet I couldn’t see myself in any other course of study that I involved myself with in my college career. So one day I threw my caution to the wind and took a big u-turn back into the world of horses. That’s when the confidence and experience I gained as a child really kicked into gear. I began training with a world-class trainer who is confident that he can train me to be a successful grand prix rider within the next year as am I. Under his instruction, I have won major classes at HITS and have improved dramatically.Furthermore, I am attending a school that has a fantastic equine studies program so that I can learn the ins and outs of the horse business and about equine health. I have had to work very hard for these opportunities. I have worked at many farms bartering for lessons; that is how I have gained experience.Currently, I am a working student at a breeding facility with the world class trainer and top American Selle Francais breeder I mentioned earlier who is an expert rider in the dressage and stadium jumping disciplines. When I pause for a moment, I look at my show boots as they are disintegrating before my eyes under the rigorous 13 hour schedule that we keep and am reminded that the slope of the hill continues upward. Still, I feel sooooo blessed to live a life that would finish off my only boots. I have the opportunity to do what I love and with such a qualified trainer! I would not trade this experience for anything. I am training for the top levels of my sport! I would not rather spend my time doing anything else. For example, on a recent vacation, I was lucky enough to work at the Compton Jr. Posse, where I met very cool kids with a passion for horses. Like me when I was their age, they had no real background in horses, but they found a way to ride through this awesome non-profit program. Riding horses often gives me this type of opportunity.My journey is far from being over, it is just beginning.All Photos Copyrighted by Genia Hart Photography and Lili Weik Photography. Thank you very much for all of your support toward reaching my dreams!Also, please bear with me when it comes to answering everyone's messages and comments. Honestly, if you really want a reply, it is best to contact me by mail. Comments are great, but I prefer to correspond to people by mail. Just FYI...
