Together We Can Do So Much

Hi, my name is Alayna. I’m one of the many proud participants of this wonderful program. Here are some of my favorite moments and things that I will definitely be taking away and remembering from being a part of Bridle Up Hope: Pocatello, ID. One of my favorite memories is when I learned to do a join-up with one of our horses. If you don’t know what that is, it’s where you guide the horse in a circle with a training stick, and invite the horse to come up to you. Afterwards, you see if they will follow you, building trust and a bond with each other. The horse I was working with was, let’s just say, stubborn. He would go around, then act like he was coming to me and then start eating or getting distracted. But this is where patience is key, because after a few more attempts, he did it, and I was ecstatic. A lot of the lessons I had taught me that you definitely need to learn how to be patient, not only with yourself, but with your horse. I’ve taken this into my daily life with my brothers and other people in general. I’m still trying to get the hang of it, but it takes time.

A lot of our fundraisers involve talking to people, which is way out of my comfort zone, but slowly I’ve become more comfortable with it. For example, at one of our fundraisers at Texas Roadhouse, I was taking people around on rides on the horses. While I was walking them, it felt really awkward when it was silent, so I made light conversation and even made new friends from it. Another example was when I was getting sponsorships for my tuition, because man oh man, that was hard for me. But thankfully, people aren’t as scary as my head makes them seem, so it went smoothly at most places.

It’s the little things like that that this program has helped me with. I feel like I’ve come out of my shell so much thanks to the Bridle Up Hope program. 

Some things that I’ve learned are that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and don’t give up when it gets hard. When I was younger, I was obsessed with anything horse-related, but as I got older I started being influenced to follow trendy styles, and I lost that true spark in me and soon became a different version of myself. Then, when I found this program, I remembered that little girl inside me who lit up when she saw a horse and longed to be a cowgirl. I believe that this program reminded me of who I really am, and I’m so grateful for that because I’m so much happier now than I was before.

I’d like to leave you with a quote from our main book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” I like this quote a lot because I’ve noticed that my personal healing journey has been helped mostly by the people I have surrounded myself with, and I’m so lucky to have met the other wonderful girls in this program. Thank you.

• Bridle Up Hope: Pocatello, ID Girl Participant

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