Hello all, 
We would like to introduce a new member of our group, Maddy Rodcay, who will be sharing her story in our  journey with you. 

Hi, my name is Maddy Rodcay and I am 16 years old. I attend New Vista High School with Maggie and Emma. I started taking English riding lessons when I was nine years old, and rode Western shortly after with family friends. In 2012, I began riding with Trish Thomas at the Flatiron Equestrian Center, this is where I began to truly develop into an equestrian. The Center grew to become my second home, after spending so many hours of my time there. These past three years I began teaching riding lessons and assisting with parent-pony classes, which is slowly helping me perfect my horsemanship skills.

Over the years I grew with Honey (the horse featured in my picture), and she became my closest friend. She taught me so much, even though she was unrideable. Honey showed me what it’s like to truly love a horse. I spent countless hours just enjoying her presence and she brought so much joy and happiness into my life. Honey recently passed due to a prolonging leg issue, but through her passing there is a blessing—Honey taught me how to love unconditionally, and that riding isn’t the only way to develop a strong connection with a horse. I will continue to use the lessons Honey taught me with my new project Paisley.

Paisley is my new girl, I adopted her from Triple Acres Rescue on November 6th, 2015. She is somewhat halter broke and is learning to lead with manners, Paisley is a very curious horse with lots of fears. I’m planning on training her to be a working cattle horse with the help of my trainer Kendra Hopper. I know I have a huge journey in front of me but I’m more than excited to grow with Paisley, she shows me everyday how smart she is and how willing she is to learn.

Now that winter is here, and the ice and snow have started to frost over the land, Emma, Maggie and I have all been slowly accepting the fact that riding outside is starting to get more difficult. With this we’ve recognized that it is a fantastic time to just be with our horses, and enjoy the time that we have with them—whether it be grooming, feeding, mucking, or just working around them. With the three of us all being juniors and finals just around the corner, we have less time to spend with our beloved friends, and we recognize that being around our horses is the most valuable bonding time we have, whether riding or not.

Please check out our video: Maddy’s New Horse: Paisley

I hope by sharing my story with BCHA it will help encourage other teens to follow their passion. Thanks for reading!
– Maddy R