Hello! I'm R.J. and here's a little about me, wrapped in sarcasm and dark humor acquired from the equine industry.

I grew up in the equestrian community, spending nearly 40 years in the saddle. I've navigated barn aisles and dealt with the emotional and physical challenges that sometimes come with managing 1500lb "Hooved weather balloons. I was a barn manager to a handful of 5 Star Eventers, Grand Prix Show Jumpers, as well as one Grand Prix dressage rider (not bragging, just a fact). I handled the day-to-day, clients, along with...well... everything. And yes, I mean everything. I wore the hats of exercise rider, show groom, amateur vet, and barn mom to the working students (someone had to do it) as well as many other bright, shiny, ugly hats. After years of long weeks, longer days, living out of a suitcase, eating burritos in between manure tosses (If only there was an Olympic event for shit scooping. Gold Metal), and crying into my shower wine almost nightly, it was time for a change. After about a month break, I had to get back into a barn. But knowing that I couldn’t do that full sport horse life anymore, I could help out barns that needed a temporary relief hand, someone who has more experience than "I pet a pony at a fair one time, and thought it would be so fun to work with horses". (Que full body eye roll here), and that wouldn’t charge what you pay for decent grooms. I know we all need to make a living and do not want to cut the throats of my fellow Per-Diem pony pilots, so my long-term goal is to get some Independent Equine Operators to team up with me so we can form our own hoofed mafia up for hire, while ensuring we all have enough clients to thrive.

Now you know the first reason for starting "The Barn Concierge". The second reason is a bit more selfish. I mentioned that I just couldn’t keep up with the full-time. Technically I could, but it was making me lose my passion for this industry and these amazing animals. After that brief commercial break I spoke of earlier, my non-horse husband-in-training asked about an award he had never seen or heard me talk about from before we met. As I was telling him, I caught him looking at me strangely. So in the kindest, sweetest voice I could muster, I said, "Why the hell are you looking at me like that, weirdo?" Being the trooper he is, he did not miss a beat. He said, "I have never seen you talk about your life with horses like that. You got excited, and I could see that you love it." Psh, silly man. So naturally, I decided to run right back to the barn... as a freelancer. This way I get to sleep, keep my relationship, and eat dinners without equine rear-end refuse. And you get thrift-priced help. I look forward to working with many more barns so I can add to the memories with many more incredible horses and amazing people... plus I'll never run out of material for my blog, don’t stress, I follow privacy practices. (Link below.)

Domestic horses can learn over 200 words, tones or cues. They hear you. They are just not listening.

“Horses teach you humility faster than anything else in life.”

-Mclain Ward

"Don't practice until you get it right. Practice until you can't get it wrong."

- Anky van Grunsven

About Me