New to Tennessee eventer/dressage rider seeks barn family willing to take in a mildly neurotic, occasionally witty student. Trainer must be patient, friendly, and used to dealing with people who see humor as a coping mechanism. (Please laugh at my jokes; they are all I have). I’ve been previously spoiled by delightful barns, giving me a certain set of standards, in addition to my certain set of skills (which include the uncanny ability to complete a half pass on the wrong lead)
In exchange for taking me in and teaching me how to ride, I promise to be on time in both my payments and arriving for lessons. Trainers who are also anxious millennials with good texting etiquette preferred. If I can buy you beer after I fall off as a way to make it up to you, that's great. If you can buy me beer after I fall off in a particularly embarrassing way, that's even better.
At least one climate-controlled room in the barn is a must, because I'm a fainter who will need to seek refuge in the AC at least once a summer. The good news is I am very self-sufficient in my fainting and almost always get my horse taken care of before hitting the ground, if that tells you anything about who I am as a person.
It's also important that you turn out your horses, have a designated tacking area, and understand that show horses can also be trail horses. Also, I'd like to know who you take lessons from, with bonus points for a barn that regularly attends clinics and extra extra bonus points if your barn regularly hosts clinics so we don't have to travel and learn all in one day.
Despite these three paragraphs of demands, I promise to be a delight to have around the barn. I sweep up after myself, wipe down my tack after every ride, and smile at everyone who comes in the barn. I've worked at barns for most of my life so my instinct is usually to be helpful, considerate, and stay out of the way. I am great at following rules and also great at giving an encouraging word after a bad ride. I'm a sticky rider who does her homework, likes to learn, rarely complains, and mostly just wants to make friends, go to schooling shows, and get from one side of a fence to the other. Triflers need not apply.