Its all about the little things...

    

Sometimes, people just need to focus on the little things... life is tough sometimes, and focusing on the good things in life is what makes it easier. 

       

         Bad days are just a thing that happens... but here are a few things that make the worst of bad days a little bit brighter. 

1.  Unexpectedly finding money in your pocket- its like Christmas
2.    Having the perfect amount of blankets in your bedroll- showing up somewhere unaware of the weather, and managing to be unexpectedly prepared.
3.      Having a hair tie with the perfect amount of stretchiness- when you have a lot of hair to contain like us, this is a simple joy.
4.   The first frost when the flies all die-Summer is awesome, except for the flies. Despite winter looming this event makes the cold mornings a wee bit more bearable.
5.     The smell of earth during the first few drops of rain- Trotting out during the first drops of rain-nothing quite like that smell.  
6.     Cold side of the pillow- enough said.
7.      When your roommate knows how to put out an oven fire- don’t worry…. In the midst of this article we had a little incident… but no worries, salt does the trick.
8.     When your dog listens to you in public – not only makes you look good, but you don’t have to follow an ignored command with a “never mind”
9.     When you flip an egg and you don’t break the yoke- like a boss
10.   Hitting all the green lights- is this how superman feels?
11. Being the first to ride across a pasture after a fresh snow- the crunch of the snow with no tracks on it is pretty blissful.
12.  Finding the “other sock”- dang that sock monster, he’s everywhere!
13.  Backing up the pickup to the trailer perfectly the first time- gosh it feels good to be awesome.
14.  Finding jeans that are long enough- this rarely happens, but who doesn’t like stacks… be better than high-waters.
15. Finding parking on campus- 15,000 and us others like this too.
16. When you get your hat shaped perfectly- this brings out the OCD in all of us.
17.  When saran wrap cooperates perfectly – when it doesn’t stick to everything else in the kitchen and actually sticks to what it’s supposed to.
18. When your horse sticks his butt in the ground-At some level deep deep down you want to expect this every time you ask your horse to stop, but then again when it actually happens, you just want to throw your arms in the air and sing hallelujah.    
19.  When your touchy colt that has bucked the last 30 days when you’ve cinched her up, decides she might not try it today- colt-30 me-1
20.  The first scoop out of a fresh jar of jelly or peanut butter- nothing like being the first in unchartered territory.  

Top of the West Horse Sale

I am so proud of my students this weekend and all their hard work in putting on the tenth annual Top of the West Horse Sale. We raised close to $120,000 for the Equine Science program of MSU. The dedication that the students have shown this year is absolutely amazing and so heartwarming. I am beyond proud of not only the students but MSU!

B+

We all know them; they don’t sit in the front of the classroom. Running late to class with coffee stains muddy muck-boots, hair strategically placed under a hat with hay stuck in their sweatshirt hood. Mentally planning which class is more feasibly skipped so that they can actually do something productive with their lives outside of academia. There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes that their classmates might not always be aware of. College is simply not their one and only priority.  And yet, they continue on, they appear time after time, semester after semester; and maybe a few extra semesters thrown in there.

These are the B+ students; including me.

Now before you jump to conclusions I AM NOT saying you need to slack off and aim for less than excellent, I am simply saying that life is a culmination of interests and is made up of more parts than a perfect GPA. 

Having an outside passion is what supports your mental stability.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people (especially professors say) "when you're in the real world"....  Pretty sure we live in reality. Just because everyones reality is different, doesn't mean that anyones is less than anyone else. 

Balance is what its all about and what makes for successful PEOPLE not just students. 

Top of The West Horse Sale and Colt Competition

For the last 4 years, I have had the opportunity to teach the Colt Starting Program for MSU. Not only was I the youngest instructor at MSU, I was also younger than all my students!
The program has developed into one of the top programs of its kind in the nation. I feel like that is not only due to amazing dedication and desire to learn by the students but also the use of marketing and promotion with the program and the horses. Marketing has a HUGE impact on the horse market and being able to teach it as part of the Equine Science program will play a huge part in the development and growth of the program and industry. On April 9th the MSU Colt starting Class will put on the 10th Annual Top of the West Horse Sale and Colt Competiton. These students in the program are the growth and development of not only the business world, but the horse industry as well!

A Legacy of Legends - Fort Worth, Texas

I had the great opportunity this spring break to partake in the Legacy of Legends event in Fort Worth Texas. This event is to promote the teachings and spread the teachings of legendary horseman Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance. The goal of the event is to send young individuals with the desire to further their horsemanship education to professionals in the industry that were students of Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance. This is a very valuable opportunity that not only changes lives of the individuals awarded with the scholarship, but also developing a deeper pool of knowledge in the horse industry.

Over Christmas break, I had the opportunity to go to Australia for a similar event; The Legacy of Legends Australia. It was such an amazing opportunity to see how people learn similarly yet different in such a different culture. Not only were the horses different, but the people were different too. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to spread awareness of this educational opportunity. Enjoy the photos of my experience and check out alegacyoflegends.com !!

Business and Horses

Who else thinks spring break comes at the perfect time every year?
Usually the week before spring break is when everyone starts to either 1) hate school and drag your feet going to class or 2) hate school and decide to skip class.
I was beginning to think about how the university system could change the way the present school to students to make it more a "developed brand" and an enjoyable experiment for the "consumer" (students).

If the university system figured out how to use a Content Marketing Strategy to promote classes and school to the students, it would be WAY more successful.

The Content Marketing Strategy is
1) set goals- SMART
2) Segment
3) Target
4) Hyper-target
5) Personalize

I think of Education as a product and the university is the retailer of the product. The professors and the leaders within the university are the brand managers and ones in charge of developing and promoting the brand.

I have had classes that I LOVE, and professors that PUSH me to do better and be better; but then again i've also had those teachers that just refuse to change and develop their "product" further.

I've had the opportunity the last few years to teach several classes for MSU. It has not only given me priceless experience and knowledge, it has allowed me to excel in the courses as a STUDENT as well! Having the opportunity to see the situation from both sides has made my life as a teacher and student so much easier.

My passion is marketing and horses. I've been blessed to be able to Receive an education in Marketing and Give education in horses through my college experience... and vice versa!
Being able to use my education in business has given me the skills to teach and develop my "brand" for the individual students and how I need to grow in my own business skills in order to succeed in every aspect of my life and education.