What's in a name.....

I'm sure many of you have been wondering where Ponytails came from. While in college, I had to do many projects involving a business. For a little while I used the name Windrunner, the name Melissa and I planned on using for our own barn. After a while, I decided I needed a new name. A name that to me showed a maturing side of me. There was a company in Fort Collins that sold pure bred puppies called Puppy Breath. I thought it was a cute name and it really conveyed what the business worked with. So drawing on that, I came up with Ponytails. A friend in college drew the picture of the 3 babies for me.

Ponytails soon became the embodiment of what I wanted to do. I wanted an equestrian center that was open to everyone. I wanted a place for people to come and enjoy their relationship with their horse. For those who didn't or couldn't own one, I wanted to have "center" horses that people could learn to ride and play with. I wanted to do a loan type program so everyone could enjoy and gain the benefits that come with the human equine bond.

At some point, I lost my way. I allowed myself to listen to the naysayers that kept saying that there is no money in having Ponytails. I allowed myself to be drawn in to a different direction. After graduation I spent 18 months working at the Disney Store and then spent the next 5 years working off and on as a veterinary technician. For the msot part, I loved working as a veterinary technician. But I now realize that it wasn't my calling in life, nor is my working for Disney.

I was reminded of my true calling in life when I went to Jacksonville in October. I went to the Pat Parelli Natural Horsemanship Tour Stop conference. Talk about an enlightening weekend! I was reminded of the joys that come with the human equine bond, when two creatures are communicating and working together. Due to this reminder, I'm working toward a plan to make Ponytails a reality. I don't need to be a famous performance horse trainer, that was a childish wish. All I want to do is provide a place for people to interact, learn, love, and play with horses.

Part of my road to that is to provide myself with little reminders. Naming my blog after my future destination is like a talisman or reminder of what I'm working toward. I wear a black Parelli wristband daily for the same reminder. There are many steps for me to go through before Ponytails will be a reality, but I know that I will get there and it will happen. :-)