There once was a young girl, with long brown hair. Every time she sat in the car she imagined there was a horse running beside her. She could almost hear the sound of the hooves hitting the concrete before going back into the grass of a shoulder-less road. She could almost see the sunlight gleam off it’s coat with every stretchy stride. That girl was me.

I met my first horse when I was probably 5 years old or so. Annie had a friend who had a horse named Nugget, a very pretty palomino, and they had us out for a bit to say hello. Annie was able to snap a photo of me feeding the horse next to Nugget, and it’s become one of my favorite photos of me.

That dreamer of a girl grew up fast, and realized a life without horses was impossible. I got to ride with my mom every so often in Los Angeles, and I spent my summers riding the family horses in Arizona. It was always a dream of mine to own a horse, lease a horse or just take lessons. In high school after I quit soccer due to injury, I was able to take a few lessons with Sagebrook Farms at the Paddock Riding Club. They were hunter jumper based, and I so wish that I could still ride with my trainer Julie, she is the best. That being said, working her summer camp allowed me to grow into my dreams a bit more.

That was the first summer of feeling independent in the horse world without my family attached, and it was amazing. I had the best time assisting with that camp before senior year. I met so many horses, experienced many lessons, and learned more than I could’ve in my own lessons I think. It made my dreams more realistic.

Flash forward to my first horse job in the Bay, at Webb Ranch. I was able to love on horses unconditionally for the first time at this job. Caz, Wonka and Stanley mean the world to me, and they left a lasting impact. I wasn’t able to ride any of the lesson horses without a lesson, lease agreement, or an extenuating circumstance, and with connections I managed to lock in my first lease. This was Capone, and going in to that all I had to my name horse wise was a grooming kit.

As time went on I dug out a used bridle from a donate pile, and I was able to Frankenstein pieces together. I bought a blingy browband from a friend, it had black leather and slide on ends. It paired nicely with my black headstall, only one of my cheek pieces was an odd brown since I was missing the matching black one. To bring out the clashing colors I paired this glittery headstall with a blue and rhinestone My Charmed Horse charm, and my brown reins from the same browband friend. After they failed as DIY rainbow reins, they became my go to reins and now I can’t live without them. Together, if you didn’t really look that hard you’d miss the mismatched tack. However, it was obvious to me and anyone watching me for credibility.

Now that I am living in Arizona full time and riding my family horse Cayenne, I have an updated set up. My Aunt Lori has a set bridle for Cayenne, its a bit like this, and a Turquoise Cross one ear headstall. I personally love her clip on long weighted split reins to pair with it, but I would prefer water tie ends, or a leather tie since clips can come undone easily. We use that for almost every ride, trail etc, and she set up a nice swimming bridle for the summer as well. It was a red and black biothane browband style headstall, a basic shanked Myler bit and barrel reins.

I expressed a wish to school Cayenne and Aunt Lori dug through old tack bins and grabbed a headstall she said Grandma Jacobs and Aunt Helen bought at Westworld during the Arabian show, and a loose ring lozenge bit I had a version of at home. I happily loaded my car up with the goodies, and took them home for tack cleaning. They turned out beautifully, as you can see below, and it brings back a ton of memories. I found photos of Playboy, and Cheyenne in this very headstall, and it flooded me with memories of trails when I was younger, and the horses were too. It’s so hard to believe both of those precious horses aren’t with us anymore, and it’s nice to have a piece of them with me. It’s even nicer to honor Cheyenne with Cayenne since she was his dam.

This has been my bridle journey. I started with mismatched pieces, to a bridle perfectly put together, cared for and treasured. My colors all match aside from the saddles I ride in, and it’s nice to look put together. I like to think the bridle shed a little bit of the oldies wisdom to Cayenne, but we haven’t fully adjusted to a new bit just yet. Maybe in the fall when he gets home. Until then, enjoy this bridle journey.