I have thought long and hard for several days on what I could write about that would make me stand out or appear interesting. I've never had a truly heartbreaking or painful experience and I consider myself to be an ordinary person. I'm a decent athlete, maintain a B- average, fight with my siblings, go to church and do the basic day to day things. The only activity that comes to mind regarding how my character was molded is horses. Horses lend us wings we lack, when I enter the arena before a competition the only thing I'm focused on is the beating heart of the horse underneath me. Our hearts beat together twice as fast. I can't describe the feeling I get after the gate shuts behind us and the event starts. The feeling is intoxicating. It doesn't matter where or when I'm on my horse the feeling is always the same, I feel exhilarated and free. Being involved with horses has taught me to be independent, strong willed, and patient. My mom did an awesome job of playing the role as mom and dad. My mom has always told me that when I was younger I had an infectious smile, you never once saw me without a smile plastered on my face. That all changed December 2004, my dad walked out on our family leaving us broken. I was seven years old and after my dad left that happy-go-lucky kid lost her infectious smile, in fact that smile became a rarity. When I was nine my mom decided to introduce me to the therapeutic art of horseback riding. When being around horses every pain every worry goes away, anything that stresses me out becomes irrelevant, nothing else matter in the world except the horse and our connection. I have tried almost every type of horseback riding there is: english, western, bareback, pleasure riding, trail riding and jumping. Freshmen year I decided to try out local gymkhana shows to figure out if it was something I was into and I fell head over heels in love with every aspect of it. Last year, I joined California Gymkhana Associat