Hey! This is Silvia, I’m a 25 year old jumper who spends most of the time at the barn! I’m here, writing at FriendshipCollar’s blog to introduce you to my four legged friend Parce and let you know more about me and our projects!

How did you and Parce meet? How long have you been together?

Last March 2019 I let my trainer know that I was ready to lease a horse! To be honest, none of the horses we had at the barn were what I was looking for - I wanted a young horse to work with, to teach him and learn at the same time… After showing me some horses and still waiting for a mare my trainer had at another barn, he bought Parce to sell him to another person. But, as soon as my friend Sara and my trainer saw him working they thought “Hey! Maybe Silvia likes this horse!”

I tried him for a whole month. He didn’t have a clue about anything but I could see that he had a heart of gold so I decided to lease him last May!

What has been your biggest challenge?

Parce is not an easy horse… his previous owners just cantered him uphill and downhill with a really strong bit so he had no idea about flatwork… not even about jumping! But with patience and hard work we are getting in shape and learning more and more, not only about equitation but also about each other's limitations and strong points!

What are your future goals with Parce?

We still have a long way to achieve my goals... But we started to jump 1 meter courses! I couldn’t believe we achieved that in less than a year! Since then, Parce is working better than ever and we are focusing on our dressage basics to jump and work better.

Tell us about the movement you began in Spain, "Montar sin miedo”!

I started an equestrian blog a few years ago called My Horseback View. Blogging not only helps me meet a lot of interesting people but it’s also helpful for all the equestrian communities to know more about what’s going on. I could see a lot of people being bullied on social media like “You’re not a good rider, you’re just embarrassing yourself”, “You don’t own a horse, why do you act like you have one?”, “Your equitation is awful… just quit!” And these are just some examples of hundreds of comments!

I found out the “Not on my Yard” and the “Stop Bullying in Equestrian Sports” movements in UK and Australia and I thought that maybe Spain needed to be conscious about bullying in our sport, which is supposed to be inclusive.

That’s how “Montar sin Miedo” was born! This translates to "Ride without Fear". I wanted to involve all riders no matter their gender, age, discipline, level or capabilities… we are all in this together! Equestrian sport is supposed to be a safe space for all of us. We love to share our time with everyone at the barn with our beloved horses; we don’t let some anonymous comments make our day blue! We have to stick together and fight against this behavior.

Spanish riders or supporters can share their thoughts and positive messages using the hashtag #montarsinmiedo on social media so everyone who’s living a bullying situation in our sport can feel supported and fight against it too!

I really hope you enjoyed this blog post and you can find me and Parce on Social Media, YouTube, and my blog by looking for My Horseback View!