ABOUT ME
Hi! I'm Sierra, a serious horse lover & rider.
I'm Sierra Barckholtz, an intermediate saddleseat rider and hackney pony lover. I love doing shows, helping out at the barn, and most importantly being around horses! Ever since I started horseback riding in May of 2020, I have been obsessed with horses. They are my passion and my love for them simply cannot be explained. Let me tell you a little bit about my riding journey.
After my first riding lesson, May 29th 2020, I began taking lessons at a small barn near my house. I loved the barn and the horses. Every week I would be excited to see the equines and work on my riding. I rode twice a week for around an hour each lesson. During this time I was a fairly new beginner. I was still working on my posting trot and trying to get the hang of the canter.
I stayed at this barn for a few months, till around December 2020. I was having trouble getting lessons in because it was always packed and the coaches didn't have a lot of time for any more lessons. It was an amazing barn but sadly I had to make the decision to switch.
After I switched I began taking lessons at a new barn. It was such an amazing barn, everything was clean and organized, the horses were trained so well. Overall, it was a great barn. The barn offered saddleseat and hunt seat. I had previously been taking hunt seat so I wanted to try something new and test out saddleseat. Boy am I glad I decided to try it! I had a blast with the saddlebreds and I've decided to take saddleseat now.
Before I moved to this great barn my mom signed me up for lessons at another barn. Even though I was still riding at this, lets call it the "saddleseat barn", I was still open to trying a new barn. The new barn was great as well! I hit it off with an amazing grey, Cougar, and was able to ride bareback for the first time. Both stables were amazing and I couldn't chose which one to ride at so ultimately I made the decision to stay at both and ride once a week at each one.
Here I am now! A saddleseat rider with a passion for horses and the equestrian life. I enjoy competing in tournaments, riding the cutest hackney pony ever named Vinny, and helping out at my local horse rescue. I'm so happy I found both these barns and I cant wait to take my riding to the next level.
Here are some questions I am commonly asked:
Q: What style of riding do you ride?
A: As of right now I am riding at two different barns. At one I do saddle seat and at the other, I do plain English and hopefully jumping soon.
Q: Do you have a horse?
A: Sadly no, I don't have my own horse. I don't plan on looking for a horse for at least 1-2 years. I want to make sure I am able to take care of one financially and that I have enough experience and knowledge to safely care for a horse before I think about buying.
Q: Do you want to show?
A: Yes, I most certainly want to show! I will be competing in a show in September at my saddleseat barn. Hopefully I will be doing it on Vinny. At my other barn I wont be showing as I don't think they do showing anymore.
Q: What horse breed do you ride?
A: One barn I go to specializes in Hunt Seat, Dressage, and Saddle seat. Therefore they don't have many thoroughbreds. I mostly ride Arabians and Saddlebreds because they are good for the styles my stable teaches. I also ride a lovely hackney pony named Vinny (who I'm sure you can tell I'm in love with). At my other barn, they do dressage and different kinds of western styles. I ride many different breeds that are good for English and Western.
Want to partner up?
If you are a company interested in a brand ambassador or an equestrian to sponsor, I'm your girl! Email me at sierrabythebay@gmail.com for business inquiries.
I look forward to posting on this blog, and I am excited to share my riding journey with you! I find that the equestrian world is amazing, but even more splendid with equestrian friends. Feel free to message me, or ask to write a guest post for my blog. I hope you enjoy this horse lovers website as I know I do!