Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

The opportunities presented to me as a working student always looked like work and often wore breeches, dust, slobber and no small amount of manure. I have enjoyed my time in Florida as a working student for Val Renihan immensely but cannot wait to have more than one morning in a row where I don’t have to set an alarm.

The first time I ever attended the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival I was 12. My father drove me to sight-see around the show grounds while we were in Florida on vacation. I drooled over the rows of vendors, the perfectly turned out horses, and the brightly decorated rings. I sat on the slope overlooking the Grand Hunter Arena and watched rounds of the working hunters, marveling at the smooth and even trips even over the bigger height.