The Barn Aisle
It is 7:15PM on a balmy Thursday night in July. The working students are sitting on the floor sharing DoorDash pizza, happy to be taking a breath from the long day. All the horses are fed and tucked into their stalls, quietly munching on hay.
The 6PM lesson group has wrapped up just in time for the adult ammy club to start pouring wine as they groom their horses and wipe down their tack. This daily ritual is what they call “un-wine-ding” from a long day at their respective offices. As the wine pours the laughs continue.
Everyone belongs here, in the barn aisle.
The dogs play as the golden hour sun seeps through from the end of the barn, and the smell of pine sol permeates the air. Everyone is just happy to be there.
If only the barn aisle could speak, oh the stories she would tell! She is always there.
Patiently she watches while we wrap that abscessed hoof (again), and lovingly she provides space to roll out a sleeping bag when we’ve got to keep an eye on a colicky horse all night long.
She sees us as we hold in tears after a tough lesson. She supports us as we collapse on her cold surface to try and chill our nerves before the big clinic.
The barn aisle is there for the life altering diagnosis from the vet, for the moment when all of our plans come crashing down. She catches our tears of desperation.
And then, when we pop the bottle of champagne after that big win that feels like the culmination of a lifetime of work and dreams, she catches our tears of celebration.
From the morning rush to the lunchtime lull, to the hustle and bustle of the evening lessons, and then finally the end of the day, the barn aisle is “our place”.
Some of the most profound moments of an equestrian’s life happen in the barn aisle.
Maybe it was the tough decision to put horses on hold for a while to pursue college and a career, or maybe it was the moment that the 22-year-old young professional broke down because she just didn’t think she can do this (even though she absolutely can).
Or perhaps it is the milestone moment that the 41-year-old corporate executive brings home her first horse since before that break she took to build a career and start a family.
Some of our best and worst days took place in the barn aisle. The barn aisle is home.
That's why we wanted to create the Barn Aisle community to be our online version of the “barn aisle”! In this private group for Dapplebay members, we will share our best moments and our worst moments, the highs, and the lows, we will vent, we will celebrate, we will learn together, and we will grow together! Just like the barn aisle hold us up & listens no matter what, that is what this group will be for us.
Click here to join the group - we are so excited to welcome you!
