Featured Article (August 2007)

Mentorship: mix equal parts luck and love, several dashes of serendipity, and many cups of kindness and responsibility. Bake at the right place and the right time, and sprinkle liberally with an attitude of paying it forward. Mentorship in the horse world is served up in every possible combination—adult to youth, peer to peer, competitor to aspiring competitor, youth to adult.

If you are involved with horses, you have most likely been mentored by one or many individuals, and are just as likely to have passed that knowledge on to others.

Responsibility. Joy. Professionalism. Doing it for the horse. Giving back to my sport. Gratitude. As this writer interviewed horse people across Virginia and the US about their experiences with mentoring relationships, the stories, memories, and anecdotes flowed. It was clear that the art of passing knowledge along and receiving it was cherished by everyone involved in the process. Many remarked that they felt privileged to have been coached by former cavalry officers who taught them not only how to ride and behave in the arena, but in many other aspects of their lives as well. Julie Goodnight, a nationally-known natural horsemanship trainer and clinician based in Salida, Colorado, is one of those individuals.

It is immediately apparent when speaking to Goodnight that she is all about responsibility. She is possibly the only clinician who relentlessly wears a helmet during clinics or demos, and she is acutely aware of the example she sets for others, especially young people. She credits her father and other instructors (including a retired cavalry officer) for instilling in her a no-nonsense approach to horses.

Goodnight reaches hundreds of people through her training business and is the program director for the Certified Horsemanship Association (CHA), a nonprofit organization with a mission of promoting safety and excellence in horsemanship through certification. "Of course, safety is a big factor in mentoring as well as excellence, which encompasses everything from good skills to good ethics and professionalism in animal welfare and the whole gamut," said Goodnight.

She continued, "I’ve had countless numbers of parents come up to me and thank me and say, ‘You don’t know how hard it is to get my daughter to wear a helmet…she barrel races, and no one else wears one.’ Through that I’ve come to not only recognize that I have an opportunity to influence youth, but that recognition got transferred along the way to a responsibility."

Though mentoring is a natural byproduct of organizations such as the CHA, 4-H, Pony Club and many others, it permeates the horse industry at a much more individual level, from backyard hobbyists to breeders and competitors at the top of their game. These more personal, less structured relationships showcase the one-on-one, often poignant side of teaching the craft of horsemanship.

Alice Grady, 58, is a horse owner in Mathews, Virginia who mentors a weekend neighbor who has always loved horses from a distance, but is terrified of them up close. Grady has slowly taught her friend about horse behavior and how to groom, and is working toward getting her comfortable leading a horse to or from pasture.

"I’m doing it not just because she’s a really nice person," said Grady. "I enjoy seeing her gradually lose her fear and comprehend the way to move and behave around my animals. She is learning to relax and enjoy the calming benefits of grooming a horse. You know, horses are such magnificent creatures—I think it’s good to spread the love! I also think it’s important to help people not make the same mistakes I made when I was trying to learn oh so many decades ago!"

Often, mentoring unites people whose diverse paths might not otherwise have crossed—the common language of horses is an amazing springboard for friendships that begin at the barn and eventually extend far beyond. Gwen Robison is a teacher in Massachusetts who had been riding for many years before she met the person she considers her "true mentor."

"She has taught me valuable lessons—both horse and non-horse related—she actually states that ‘it is all intertwined.’ She is one of the few people in the world that I feel I need to stay connected to," said Robison. "Sometimes I chuckle at myself for ending up such good friends with a woman so many years older than me, but I know that it is so much more than a superficial friendship….Although she has taught me so much about horses, she has truly helped me maneuver my way through life in better ways."

In researching and interviewing for this article, it quickly became apparent that mentorship is so tightly interwoven into the equine experience, it is impossible to neatly unravel its individual threads and define them. We find it in unlikely places, and often don’t realize we were being gently coached until years later. Sometimes, when we feel least equipped to lead, we find ourselves out front. And for those of us fortunate enough to have discovered (or rediscovered) horses later in life, it can bring us full circle, surfacing emotions dormant since childhood.

Dr. Martha Mitchell is an anesthesiologist who divides her time between a home in Richmond and her farm in Mathews County. At 45, with no horse involvement since childhood, she embarked on an adoption odyssey that began with Riley, a BLM Mustang mare. A year later, her herd has grown to seven horses. Except for Riley, all are products of the PMU industry. (Continued below)

Mitchell grew up riding western and remembers feeling like an outsider, envious of the svelte, pretty blondes, impeccably turned out, riding fancy hunter ponies. She now employs a team of serious young horsewomen who manage her barn while she’s in Richmond. Mitchell has also relied on them to help reacquaint her with the basics of care and training, which they’ve done graciously and willingly. Most of "her girls" are Pony Clubbers who ride hunters—and all are slim, pretty blondes. The irony of her current situation does not escape her, and she can’t help but laugh. "It’s something I’m humored by that at 30-plus years later, I’d be at a point in my life where the stereotype I remember being annoyed by is so very helpful to me!"

Mary Howell, a successful Virginia endurance rider, embodies the spirit of mentorship in all its forms as well as anyone this writer interviewed. Having benefited from many generous mentors throughout her riding career, she became one herself a few years ago when she agreed to introduce her teenage neighbors to riding. "I see myself as passing along the joy because my horse is so dependable and bombproof, you can just get on and ride," she said. It was a fulfilling experience, and has led to a sort of "mentoring mission." Currently, she is helping three young endurance riders get started in the sport.

"It’s helped me a lot to have meaning in my sport, because now that I’ve done just about everything I can do competitively, I feel the time has come for me not only to mentor, but also to work more rides. I’m also on the board of directors of the Old Dominion, just to try to pay back. Our sport can be very intimidating to people who feel overwhelmed by the concepts. They love to ride but they feel overwhelmed and I’m here to show them that it’s really not that hard," Howell said.

She sums it up well. "I think the biggest thing is this—you don’t pay anything for a mentor. They give advice you can’t find in books, they reassure you when you’re uncertain, they help catch you if you’re going in the wrong direction. Since you can’t pay them back, you have to pay it back by turning around and helping someone else. There’s a feeling you get when you mentor…that my life has meaning, my life is important. Being able to mentor people has really helped me when things in my own life were difficult.