Just down the road from where I grew up, there is a property knows as the Tolland Agricultural Center, or TAC as we called it. Consisting of a handful of buildings and a field in the back with two riding rings, it seems out of place with the gas stations, grocery stores and banks that have grown up around it. My mom attended Homemaker meetings at TAC, and when I was old enough, she found a 4-H group focused on horses and shoved me into the room. I started out huddled in the back, but soon enough got caught up in the discussion and left with new friends and the start of some of the best times of my childhood and teenage years.

4-H showed me that I did actually like to learn, as long as it was a topic I was interested in. We studied parts of the horse, assembled bridles blindfolded, identified bits and random pieces of tack, memorized the life cycles of parasites, learned to judge horse conformation and performance, and memorized reasons for why we placed each horse in order. You didn’t have to own a horse to be a 4-Her, so in addition to 4-H horse shows, we had horse knowledge competitions.

Our group was dedicated – we studied weekly for the state competitions of Hippology and Horse Judging, and we even made it to the 4-H Eastern Roundup (the East Coast Nationals of sorts) for an intense few days of competition. These early travel experiences broadened my horizon and showed me other parts of the country and other riding disciplines that I would never have known about otherwise. I did get to horse show as well – on borrowed horses who bravely faced fair atmospheres to compete in the dreaded Fit and Showmanship (an in-hand class judged on cleanliness and presentation) as well as Pleasure, Equitation and the most fun class – Trail! I even got to show at the Big E, the huge New England regional fair – we stayed in dormitories on the fair grounds and skipped the cafeteria slop in favor of fried food and baked potatoes. We marched in parades, went on Haunted Halloween trail rides, learned the basics of polo and driving, and in general got the most well-rounded horse education possible thanks to the amazing volunteers, parents and fellow horse enthusiasts who chaperoned, taught and guided us.

This past holiday season I reconnected with an old friend from that era. We figured out that we hadn’t seen each other since the early 90’s – over twenty years ago! In anticipation of our get-together, I dug up an old VHS tape of us riding and being horse-crazy teenagers in the barn. I watched that tape and wondered, who is that girl with the gigantic red glasses and frizzy hair? It brought me back to a time when riding was just about having fun – playing tag and hide and go seek on horseback in the woods, building crazy jumps out of branches in the backyard, riding bareback in the snow, taking epic treks across town just to see if we could. We chased the ponies around their paddocks to watch them run and play, we took endless pictures and videos of our escapades and we slept in the barn during colic episodes to make sure our beloved creatures were going to be OK. High school was not a great time for me, so having a best friend with a pony to share and endless horsey shenanigans as an outlet was invaluable to me.

I’m extremely lucky to have had these experiences – they shaped who I am today and gave direction to my life. They showed me that friends who share your passions will be friends for life, even when you don’t see them for 20+ years. Most of all, they gave me the basis of my career – working in the horse industry in many different facets and loving almost every second of it. Remember to thank those who fostered your love of horses, and nurture that love in the next generation – there are more horse-crazy kids out there who want to learn everything they can!

About Jennifer Bagley

Jen as a rider: Apparently I've been obsessed with horses since I was born, and I used to beg for pony rides on a regular basis. I started showing in 4-H, progressed to equitation and jumpers in high school and rode on the IHSA team in college where I also discovered the joys of eventing! After graduating I learned how to sit while working for a dressage trainer and now am a committed low-level eventer in the ever-elusive quest to put together three solid phases. Jen as a SmartPaker: As the Director of Web Merchandising, I get to work with a super talented bunch of designers, developers, buyers, and marketers to help you find just what you need (and a few things you didn't know you needed!) on our website. All about Intrinsic: Intrinsic, or "Trin," is a very sweet and snuggly dark bay 16.2 hand TB gelding born in 2013 who race trained but never raced. He loves hacking out with friends and is learning about dressage and eventing. He loves carrots but has no interest in apples, and makes very funny faces when he eats anything peppermint flavored!