In this series, Melissa talks about the horses who have helped shape her career and create Pyrois Media.
Nothing makes me feel as old as realizing that exactly 17 years ago, I was continuously staring at Crystal waiting for her to release her hostage – the horse we now know as Vegas.
As an impatient teenager, the first thing that Vegas taught me was patience. She was born on April 29, well after her due date, and taught me that I can do things on lack of sleep because she arrived at 4am. That lesson was reinforced when my mom made me go to school just a few hours after she was born even though I’d gone to bed very late the night before.
Vegas the day she foaled.
Vegas was probably the best introduction to training a young horse that I could have because she was truly an easy horse to train – but that also came with some downsides.
Because she was so easy, I probably pushed her more than I should at some points because she rarely said no and made most things early on look easy. But she also proved to be frustrating at times because when she said no, she was – and still is – determined to stand by her decision.
It was in those moments that I decided being a trainer wasn’t for me – possibly the biggest career lesson she could have taught me. And one I’m happy she taught me before I even left high school.
The biggest “problem” in my relationship with Vegas in the early years is that I had plans and goals for her before she was even born. It was another lesson Vegas taught me – even though you may want to fit a horse into a box or time frame, they’ll have other ideas. That idea was a bit more disappointing because I registered her as “Bound For Vegas” in honor of the NFR – she quickly showed she had no desire to go fast enough to qualify for any championship rodeo.
Vegas at 5 years old.
It took me a long time to realize that my goals didn’t fit her goals, but it also took about that long to realize that I also didn’t have enough drive for my NFR goal needed to come anywhere near reaching it.
While a lot of the plans I made for her 17 years ago have no hopes of coming true, in the last few years, she’s had a new purpose in life. I leased her out (then sold her outright) in late 2016 and she spent the next few years teaching people how to ride and building their confidence – which is honestly the job that she is made for.
When I knew that I wanted to get back into riding last year and had the opportunity to buy her back, I immediately took it. I needed confidence after a series of riding lessons that had destroyed any I had left a few years before and in our first ride she started helping me rebuild.
Of course, I ended up breaking my back a few days after getting her back so for the last nine months she’s spent more time being a pasture puff than a riding horse. Though, she probably figures it’s just an extended birthday celebration. Assuming all goes well in the next few weeks, she’ll be incredibly upset that birthday celebration is about to come to an end.
It’s hard to believe that this year the first horse I ever bred is turning 17, but if she’s anything like her dam (who is happily alive and retired at 31), the fun is just beginning.
Vegas just before her 17th birthday.
