What Constitutes a Horseman?

(Or horsewoman, the term I prefer for myself.)

In the January 25 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse, new columnist Julie Winkel authored the "Between Rounds" column. Her own "horsey credentials" are very good and she is an experienced horsewoman.

But.

Her article came across to me at times as supercilious, condescending  and patronizing. She celebrated her own background of being the daughter of horsey parents and growing up on a ranch where she learned through experience how to care for and ride horses while at the same time taking pot shots at other horsefolk she has encountered.

She wrote about not having the financial means to take professional lessons or to show, but then fussed about big name trainers who went to those shows and won the blue ribbons, calling them "dudes" (she defines that as people who don't know anything about horses or misunderstand them) in the next sentence.

The article had some very good points, but sprinkled throughout were snarky, "better than you are" comments. And frankly, these arrogant remarks made it difficult for me to take her other tidbits about horse care seriously despite those sterling credentials she presented at the end of the article.

I believe that there is always something you can learn, regardless of the field you are in. I am a teacher, I have a Masters degree in Education plus fifteen hours post-Masters studies in Gifted Education. I have published papers in four well-respected education journals (Research in Science Education, Language Arts, Teaching and Teacher Education, and Teaching Children Mathematics.) But I can watch a new teacher who I am mentoring and see things I want to try with my own class.

I'm a mother of six children. I know a lot about parenting, but as I watch my own kids parent their little ones, sometimes I don't know how I would handle certain situations they may be dealing with and am a loss when my own child asks for suggestions.

I am, and always have been, a backyard kind of horsewoman. Unlike Winkel, I did not have horsey parents (despite my father's brief foray into pony ownership in 1936.) My parents supported my horsiness and gave me eight riding lessons, the only formal training I have ever had. (I am not counting the 4-H clinics and training; that certainly contributed to my ability to ride as well as care for my herd over the years.)

All through junior high and high school I managed our horses by myself, rotating pastures, carrying water, grooming, feeding, and learning, learning, learning.  I read Horse and Rider, Practical Horseman, Western Horseman, Equus, and Horse Illustrated avidly.

I learned to drive a trailer and haul horses, how to do basic horse health care, how to tell a good farrier from a bad one, and I even trained one horse under saddle.

Winkel and I have some pretty similar ways as to how we earned that moniker of "horsewoman." And yet, I think she would categorize me as a dude.

The take away for me after reading her article is this: the basic premise or definition of "horsewoman" varies depending on who you are and your perspective. I may be in the "Winkel dude category," but I am comfortable around horses and confident that I can care for my own so that they are happy and healthy. And isn't that the goal, what all true lovers of horses want for the horse?

I am a horsewoman.