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Katie
Welcome back to Catching it with Katie. And I just want to apologize for the haggardness of me today, because I'm not joking you. Every day this past week, 1pm knife in my head, in my eye. I don't think it's quite a migraine because I can actually function still, but I'm. I'm not feeling great. But we brought on someone who doesn't look haggard today for once, which is my best friend Becca.
Becca
I got ready for this.
Katie
I call her Rebecca. Y' all can't do that, though. She's Becca to y'. All. Rebecca's here to chat a little bit because we. We had a very fun experience together. You know, I've already been sharing about how I'm getting back into the show pin this year. We have a new horse, new journeys, etc. Well, Rebecca's doing the same. Her stint away from the show pin is how many years?
Becca
Like 18. Yep. 18 years out of the Chopin.
Katie
So when. I guess, when was the last year that you went to a horse show and were. Were you jumping? I guess up until the end.
Becca
Up until then. So the summer after my senior year was my last show season, and I showed. Sold my horse in August, and.
Katie
Okay.
Becca
Ended it.
Unidentified Male 1
Did that make you sad?
Becca
I mean. Yeah. It was time, though. He. Honestly, I'm thankful for him. He paid for, like, my first year of college, so I give him that.
Katie
And he had a really good life after. Like, he became a pet. Yeah, he had a really good owner.
Becca
Yeah. He was brushed daily and kissed. He didn't get rode anymore.
Katie
But I do think that when you show for a really long time period and you dedicate your whole adolescence and, like, teenage years to a sport regardless, with horses or not like a sport, sometimes, like after. After high school, first year of college, like, you're kind of ready for a break sometimes. Yeah, you know, I felt that way.
Becca
I felt I needed a break. I feel like there's a lot of pressure, too. I mean, just to do well and.
Katie
And it's an expensive sport.
Becca
Yep.
Unidentified Male 2
And did you do well?
Becca
Yeah. And so for what I was doing, I was doing well. I didn't compete at, like, a super high level. Like, I never competed at something that would be, like, comparable to, like, congress or anything like that. It was mostly local shows.
Unidentified Male 2
Were you better than Katie?
Becca
I think Katie and I are better at different disciplines.
Katie
Yes, exactly.
Becca
I can't get on, like, Kennedy and ride her like she does. And she couldn't have got on a jumper and jump it like I do, but we just. We do different things.
Unidentified Male 2
But if you were to put your like you two head to head, I
Becca
will say you were the better rider. I think a punchier horse would.
Katie
I'm not for the punchy horses.
Becca
I can. I'm pretty sticky.
Katie
I'm not sticky. I'm not for the punchy horses. That is not for me. I have sat through some bucks.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
But in these years, that is not something I wish to do and it's not something I had a whole lot of experience with because I had usually older bro courses for sure. So I think I had a lot of fine tuning in the time that I was being trained in like very technical things and like finessing of a horse and like obviously more of a western background. But I never really had to deal with the like this, the dangerous attitudes or the like getting a horse through a sticky spot where like sure, like a sully horse or whatever. But like I've seen, I've seen you be pretty ranchy and yeah, like you, you have a different. A different person comes out of you.
Becca
I think it's more too. It was never on like strange horses. Like my horse was naughty and like bad. But I knew his limits. I knew how far he like, yes, he was gonna buck, yes he was gonna do something, but I knew how far he would take it and I knew it was something I could handle.
Katie
Okay, I'll just give you the example.
Becca
I can't think of this. I'm scared of this example.
Katie
I'll give you the example. No, it's fine.
Becca
Okay.
Katie
It's not gonna. I had a young horse that I started from scratch and I was in high school and he was this like little ranch horse that we had put on the back burner. His name was Shorty. I got him to the point of like riding around one handed, like he was picking up both of his leads, all those things. I was dumb. Trusted him a little too hard because he was what I would consider cold backed. Like if you didn't lunge him, if you didn't like prep him, he was gonna buck you and he was gonna. He had a back that was like this long and he like, he was just bred by like a working cow horse stallion. And his mom was a more foundation like ranch western horse. And he just had this innate need to buck in him.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
And now he was like 13, three.
Becca
Like he was small, he was tiny.
Katie
But I, you know, broke him and he ended up breaking me.
Becca
He broke you?
Katie
He is the one that broke my back. And so that horse ended up being given to Rebecca.
Becca
And he bucked all the time with me.
Katie
Yes. So it's like, that was not the fit for me. That was like, we got along some, but it ended up being a great fit for you. Like, she could just handle him a lot better than I could.
Becca
Well, you would just be like, I feel like even in that situation, you'd always be like, lunge him like 20 minutes. I never lunged that horse a day. I would just get on him and we'd sort it out. He and I would sort it out and he would buck, but I knew his limits.
Katie
Yeah.
Becca
He wasn't going to, like, throw his head down and, like, bronc it. He was just gonna hip hop around.
Katie
I was just not brave. Like, I, I will just flat out tell you I'm not brave on a horse. And I think that's okay to a certain extent. Like, I, I, I am not. I've never in my life, even in my, like, fittest point, even to the point where I was riding six horses a day, I've never been the one being like, let me bronk it out. Like, I, I'll lunge it for a week before I get on it or I'll, you know, I just, I'm always the scaredy cat, honestly. And so I always put a little more, I don't know, prep into it before, because I'm a little scaredy cat. So, yeah, it, there's definitely different.
Becca
Yeah. Not better. Neither of us is. Yeah. Better than the other. It's just different styles.
Katie
But with that being said, we're both coming back. And so we had our first experience as adults going to a horse show and having zero pressure. Neither one of us were like, like, now our moms both came to the show, but, like, we weren't there. Like, under the guidance of our mommies. We, we had our own horses and our own kind of a situation, and we stalled together, and we both had Stephanie there helping us, and that was, it was very fun. I had a, like, such a fun time at that horse show because, again, no pressure.
Becca
Yep. And it was like, if it wasn't going smooth, we could be like, you know what? We're not going into the next class. We didn't do that. But, like, there was that.
Katie
I did.
Becca
Well, I, well, you schooled.
Katie
I schooled. Or I was like, oh, it's gonna be two hours.
Becca
Yeah, we're gonna go home. We did that. Well, she was back to back.
Katie
Yeah.
Becca
So we let her do it. But yeah, I agree. We, it was a lot of fun. It was just fun to get to hang out and have downtime in between. And, I mean, it was hectic, like, back and forth. But it was such a local show, too. That made it. I'm glad it was local.
Katie
So what the one thing I'm excited for. I didn't know this. So we went in to sign up the first day we went to the horse show, and I was helping Becca do her entries because she had never shown at a quarter horse show before. And so, like, every association kind of has their own, like, deal. I mean, pretty much any association, you're going to have to, like, take your coggins and take your. If they require registration papers, you take your papers. And you. If you're not. If you've never been to the show, then sometimes you got to do a couple extra steps. And so I went with her to make sure she had everything. Sorry, I just burped at the same time that you cough. So it's fine. And so we got that all done, and they said, oh, this is your first show. AQHA is going to send you a little something special. So I'm very curious.
Becca
I haven't got anything.
Katie
I'm very curious if they do, because that's kind of fun.
Becca
Yeah, that is fun. And a lot of it was, too. There's so many classes that are like, name the same thing.
Katie
Yeah.
Becca
But, like, different. I'm like, I don't know what level I am. But then it also matters, like, where your horse is.
Katie
Yes.
Becca
So it's like, not just where I qualify, but where Shelby qualified. I had no idea what to register for. I was so confused.
Katie
Well, I saw you posted your. Because if you don't know, Rebecca has her own social pages where she posts things. So if you want to go follow her there, we'll put it in the description. But she posted her ride. And then I saw someone be like, hey. Hey. So seniors on the horse.
Becca
I didn't know it was. Is it? Yeah, I just thought I was a senior citizen.
Katie
So there's level one, and if it doesn't have amateur or youth or select behind it, if it's just like, level one, hunter to saddle, that's based on the horse. So that's a horse that has had less than 25 points.
Becca
Okay. I thought because there was like, youth.
Katie
So then if there's level one youth, level one amateur, level one select, that's based on the rider's points.
Becca
And then I know nothing.
Katie
And then junior and senior is on the horse.
Becca
So remember, like, growing up, we would ride.
Katie
I totally forgot that. That's what it was called.
Becca
It was on. Based on your age.
Katie
Yeah, I totally forgot that. At like 4h and stuff.
Becca
Senior was based on your age, like, if you're in high school.
Katie
So senior horses in Aqha are six years and up.
Becca
Wow. That's her.
Katie
And that's just it. And then.
Becca
Glad somebody knew.
Katie
And then within regular amateur, there's level two and level three, but that it gets more complicated.
Becca
Well, I can tell you that I think everybody in my class was over 18. So that's why I assumed.
Katie
Yeah, amateur is 18 and over, so.
Becca
Just kidding. They all. They all looked about my age.
Katie
Youth or I guess youth is 18 and under. Amateur is 19 and over.
Becca
Got it. Got it.
Katie
So that's why your birthday, like, has the perfect birthday because she's early in the year. So she's going to turn. Yeah, she'll turn 18 and get the whole show season and get the whole show. Oh, wait, no, she needs to be. She's the worst.
Becca
She needs to have a December birthday.
Katie
Your little one has the best birthday because then she turns it at the end of the year.
Becca
She won't be utilizing that.
Katie
No, she won't. For showing cats, Maybe cat shows. Okay. So I did go on Facebook and made a little post and was like, hey, are there any questions that y' all want to hear about? And maybe this will bring up some of our own side stories from this show, because, again, it was our first show back. Like, it was my first show in Kennedy, my first show ever on Ethel. I've owned Ethel for, like, eight years.
Becca
Never shown her.
Katie
Never shown her. Your kids showed her.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
And then it was your first show back with your new horse, Shelby.
Becca
Yep. And.
Katie
And first show back since literal, like, 4h days. So. Which was kind of funny that it's in the same, like, arena.
Becca
Yeah, I knew that arena very well.
Katie
Yes.
Becca
Red Dirt.
Katie
I did see this question, and it was quite funny. So sometimes at the big shows, like, they have you trot down the center as you enter. And so you have your moment. You have your moment to trot down the center. The judges are only looking at you. You have, like, quite the entrance. You can really show off. What would your trot in song be?
Becca
Oh, Lord.
Katie
Kind of like your walkout song.
Becca
I don't even know. Probably just some. Hang on. You have to give me a little Wayne. I was about to say some. Some 2000s rap. No. Maybe some young Dolph or something. Probably. They'd have to edit it. I could think of a better one.
Katie
Young Dolph is crazy. Miami by lmfao.
Becca
Yeah, I could do that one until the end of that.
Katie
Oh, my gosh. That is me and Rebecca's song.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
Back when I was a youth who could not drive and she would drive me around because she's much older than me and she had. What was. It was. Benny. What was. It was a like, it was it a 90s Mercedes Benz that you at or something like that.
Becca
It was. I got it in high school. It was like a little C class Mercedes that was a hand me down through the family.
Katie
We would Bump Miami by LMFAO and I was like a solid 14 years old.
Becca
Listen, could have been way worse.
Katie
And we were at a wedding not too long ago and there are some video.
Becca
I have video proof of us from that wedding. Becky returned that night.
Katie
There were some videos of us with that song. Boys, if you were to have like a trot in song, what would it be?
Unidentified Male 1
Very interesting.
Katie
So this is where you guys can edit out your awkward silence.
Unidentified Male 1
That's not my awkward silence.
Unidentified Male 2
Yeah, probably that. Probably. I don't know the name.
Unidentified Male 1
I don't know the name of that.
Katie
What about the Star wars theme song?
Unidentified Male 2
It'll be cool too. But certainly not the same as the Rohirrim cresting the top of the the hill in Lord of the Rings.
Unidentified Male 1
Yeah, I would probably pick maybe like baby Justin Bieber.
Unidentified Male 2
High school basketball game and do like sale from AWOL Nation.
Unidentified Male 1
I'd really just get a kick out of that.
Katie
When Annie was a baby and I was trying to figure out her registered name. Her dad is hot and blazing. I very much wanted to name her hot and dangerous. Plot twist. It was already taken. I wanted to name her hot and dangerous so that I could do. I thought this in my head cashier was just like. So that I could do my trot into Hot and Dangerous. If you want to.
Becca
First Things first is a good one.
Katie
There's multiple.
Becca
Oh, really?
Katie
There's the one with first things first.
Becca
I'm the realist. That's what I'm thinking of.
Katie
The imagine dragons. Like first things first.
Becca
Oh, yeah.
Katie
So he has multiple.
Unidentified Male 1
Interesting.
Unidentified Male 2
Anyway, would you want the song to represent you or the horse?
Katie
You know, I think honestly the horse because.
Unidentified Male 2
Well, that's a different question. And I'd have to know my horse.
Becca
It's bo.
Unidentified Male 1
I would have actually.
Katie
I would need to know my horse first. Yeah.
Unidentified Male 2
Give me a. Give me a horse personality. Give me an age. Hands.
Unidentified Male 1
Yeah. How many hands? Yeah.
Unidentified Male 2
Give me. Give me. Is it a bay? Is it lax in the pasterns, is it? Give me some deets.
Becca
He's picking up some random.
Katie
He has. He brings up. Well, that one's lax in the past. He says that about every horse now. Okay. Anyway, I thought that was a cute question. Like, what's your. What's your trot inside?
Becca
I'd have to really. I'd have to think about it. It. You know, that would take me like, seven business days.
Katie
How were your legs feeling?
Becca
Not. Not good. After your first show, I could. I still have bruises, actually. You want to see why were you bruised?
Unidentified Male 1
Bruises?
Becca
Yeah, because.
Katie
What are you doing?
Becca
Do you want me to show you the screenshot?
Katie
Just, like, upright.
Becca
Do you not remember that?
Katie
No, she just did a little hippity hop.
Unidentified Male 2
You know, it's funny you say that, because I actually just saw. That's wild. Actually just saw a video. Whoa. Whoa, girl.
Becca
You see that?
Katie
Oh, this is your poison ivy.
Becca
Oh, that's poison ivy. But you see this?
Katie
Do you see what she's giving us on camera right now?
Becca
That's gonna get edited out.
Katie
Oh, is it?
Becca
I don't know.
Unidentified Male 1
I zoomed in on.
Unidentified Male 2
Cause in the blanket, it looks like you have zero pants on.
Becca
Do I?
Unidentified Male 2
It's funny that you mentioned that. Cause I just saw a YouTube short of a girl that had to be, like, taken off of a horse because her legs were shaking so bad or whatever and like, sat down and. And apparently it was like a common thing. After riding for so long.
Becca
I haven't. I've only had that happen. Like, I had one bolt with me one time. Oh.
Katie
Oh. Like, you got so adrenaline shaking.
Becca
Yeah, I was little, though. I had a runaway, and it went on for a long time. And when they went to get me off, my little legs were just like. Like, my adrenaline was just like.
Katie
Huh.
Becca
I was just shaking.
Katie
I. I saw this comment and I'm like, I have the perfect one. And I'm gonna see if you guess what I'm thinking of.
Becca
Oh, Lord.
Katie
Someone said, I want to hear hore show shenanigans from when you were kids.
Becca
Oh, it's the time that I almost took you out of this world.
Katie
No.
Becca
Oh, okay.
Katie
That's not what I was thinking of.
Becca
No, that's what I think of because I'm still traumatized. Sorry.
Katie
Time you almost took me out of this world. Yeah.
Becca
When I pulled out in front of the truck.
Katie
Oh, yeah, okay, that one. Yeah, you almost killed us. But yeah, no, I'm not talking about that. That was in Shelbyville. Okay, but wait, there was, like, A blind drive.
Becca
Look me in my eyes before we say these stories out loud.
Katie
When I fell off.
Becca
Oh, okay. That's fine.
Katie
Okay. What one are you thinking? Okay. Yeah. Well, anyway, the one you're talking about. We had my gator.
Becca
Yes.
Katie
So I had a tiny little gator that my pap got me to go to horse shows, and it had Katie's ride on the front of it. It was very cute. And so instead of like a golf cart, we used a gator. And in Shelbyville, which is where like the walking horse celebration is and stuff, we had state show there and we had a lot of POA shows there. Well, the grounds where you stay in trailers is like pretty far away from the actual arena. You have to cross a street that is like a blind. There should be. There should be a light there.
Becca
A horrible blind drive. A horrible blind drive.
Katie
Horrible. Like, and. And it's. It's bad. So anyway, we just. And almost got smashed.
Becca
And her mom was behind me. So I was driving the gator and I had Katie in the passenger seat. And I looked. I came to a complete stop. I looked. In my defense, I was like 14 and like that.
Katie
So that first is. First I was like nine.
Becca
Okay. And then I pulled out and this truck came around the corner with the trailer and was like. And her mom's honking at me from behind and I'm just like. It was horrible when I just. When you punch the gator, it had like that delay, like you put it to the floor and it would just be. Because it would take off. I'm still a ptsd.
Katie
So. Yeah, she did almost get us killed, but. And I was the one that would have gotten smashed because it was coming from it.
Becca
Both would have been done for.
Katie
So anyway, that's not the one I was thinking of.
Becca
Okay, I know what you're thinking.
Katie
I was thinking of the. Because Becca liked boys a lot at that time, period. This was right before she met her now husband because they've been together for a gajillion years. There was a little horse show boy that she liked. And Connor.
Unidentified Male 1
Was it Connor?
Becca
I don't know a single man named Connor. Whoa, Connor from the horse show?
Katie
No, he's talking about Connor from down. This kid was like helping out another family there. He wasn't even showing. She thought he was a good looking. And she was supposed to be at these shows at the, like at the horse. At the 4H shows. You were also showing poa shows. She would come and be like a helper and my mom would pay her to be my friend. And so. So she was supposed to be watching me. And we were again, I'm nine years old. Like, yeah, there's no way I was over nine because I was still showing Romeo and I was showing this little poa gelding named Little Romeo. And I was doing the bareback. It was the bareback. Like western pleasure class. Mind you, there's no freaking way I should have been allowed to do the bareback.
Becca
He did not have the center of gravity.
Katie
I had zero center of gravity. I should not have been allowed.
Becca
Okay. And he was so shoshin. I probably showed his whole body so shoshined.
Katie
And his wither went like this. He had zero, like body to him. Anyway, so she's supposed to be like. And. And mind you, I don't even think he was that broke at that point. Like, he was like, we got him and he wasn't broke. And then he. So he was like, green broken. I should not have been on this
Becca
horse with the supervision of me.
Katie
And then you were my only supervision. And she's off with this boy in the. I don't know what they're doing in the corner. Kiss him probably. And they're. They're over way. And all she hears is. And the boy's like, katie. And she turns around.
Becca
I'm just on the ground.
Katie
I'm just on the ground.
Becca
Listen, he was facing that towards you. I wasn't. He could see you.
Katie
He.
Becca
He let me know that you had splat on the ground.
Katie
And then she.
Becca
You were fine. You look at you. You're fine. I would receive more trauma from that situation.
Katie
Flat on the ground. I don't know what Romeo's doing.
Becca
I think he ran out. We're in the warm up. But indoor warm up. But he didn't escape.
Katie
Yes. So anyway, that's a horseshoe shenanigan. Because honestly, we don't have that many horseshoe shenanigans of me being over the age of no. 12.
Becca
Because we were like just showing separately. Like I was with that other barn when we were older.
Katie
And so once we got. Because at 12 and 13, I had started going to quarter horse shows and you weren't really going with us to the. So really it was like the poa shows that you went with us to.
Becca
I was already gone to college.
Katie
But anyway. So what are your end goals with horse showing right now?
Becca
Zero goals. Honestly. Just have fun. Like, literally. Literally, like, I don't. I don't care if I. Whatever. Oh, I can't think of the word. Because my brain right now qualify for additional shows. Just. I'm just. If there's another local show, I'll go to it.
Katie
Yeah.
Becca
But I will not travel for a horse show. I will not travel out of state for a horse show.
Katie
Are you saying you will not travel right now or, like, is the kibosh on that forever?
Becca
I think want the kids to be older. I think right now it would be a lot.
Katie
Yeah.
Becca
With our schedule and, like, our commitments at home to be gone at a horse show. Just be a lot.
Katie
It is a lot.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
Like, I'm. I'm remembering how much it actually was because I haven't, like, traveled past murphy'sboro to a hor show. I mean. Well, I take that back. I took Annie to a UT Martin show, so two hours away.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
And that was just for a weekend. But, like, I haven't really done past Murfreesboro since 2017.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
So, I mean, that's like, nine years. And I. I just. Honestly, you get to the point where you kind of forget what all goes into it, and it's so much. And so the first couple shows I went to, like, the Ocala horse show was different because I didn't take a horse. I just showed up and showed, like, my horses were already there, whereas the Murfreesboro show was the first time I was like, all right, well, let's load up the trailer. We're taking the horses. We have to have all of our own equipment, all of our own tack, all of our own, like, buckets, the hay nets, the everything. And I was like, I'm missing a lot of things.
Becca
Well, another.
Katie
Go do some shopping.
Becca
Adult piece of it. And I had a lot of people, like, not in a mean way, just comment, like, I can't believe you're not in Florida with Katie. I can't believe you're not doing this with Katie. Like, when you're going to these shows. I have a corporate job. I get X number of days off of work a year.
Katie
You're like, I'm.
Unidentified Male 2
You would think you would center those around Katie showing.
Becca
I just would center them around Katie and not, like, take my family on vacations. And so if it comes down to, like, choosing will I go out of town for this horse show or will I go to the beach with my family? I'm going to the beach. Like, that was something I didn't have to think about at 18 was. Yeah. Paid vacation days that are very limited.
Katie
Yeah, for sure. And I think that is also, like, like, people online love to, A, spend your money and B, make your Schedule and be like, well, why don't you just do this and be like, oh, why don't I just do that? It. There's so much more that goes into things. People.
Becca
It's okay. They just think I should follow you around.
Katie
They. I. Am I not the center of your world?
Becca
Very sorry.
Katie
If you could show any horse just currently alive.
Becca
I'm not even in the horse world anymore.
Katie
Who would you choose? If you want to limit it to my horses.
Becca
Yeah. I was about to say, because I don't like, you keep up with all the horses in the world, so I don't do that.
Katie
All of them.
Becca
I mean, I know she wouldn't be, but it would be. Be. Earn. Really? Yes. I've done you, Orlean. And I mean, I. I would love Wheezy or Wally in the future.
Katie
Right.
Becca
But I mean, I can't afford to. I haven't seen. I'm sure Wheezy's doing great. She's probably safe. I'm not getting on Wally, but. No, be Arlene. I love.
Katie
Right. You.
Becca
Right. I remember how much I rode her when she came. I wrote her a bunch when she first came.
Katie
Yeah. Two or three times. She kind of got like. Because her back foot. How it was weird. Like, that kind of started bothering her where we couldn't ride her as much. But yeah, she's so, like, point and go. Like, she's so not complicated. She's honest. She's a brick house. So it's like between your legs and between your hands. She's just like this steady rock. So I could totally get that.
Becca
I like her a lot.
Katie
Yeah, she's awesome. What got you back into showing? What made you want to get you peer pressuring me?
Becca
I mean, that's it.
Katie
Are you. Are you glad that I peer pressured you?
Becca
Yeah, I had fun.
Katie
It was a fun weekend, I think, also. So, like, your little girl shows.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
And she's been going to, like, lessons jumping for a few years now. And then she has expressed interest in, like, doing a little bit of, like, the pattern stuff. And so she's been riding Ethel at home a bit. And so was that fun, being in that atmosphere with her? And, you know, because the last couple shows we've been to, we've just been like, her grooms and we're just like, completely there for her. And we don't even ride the horses.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
Or, like, we get on and, you know.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
Wear them out or whatever. But was that fun? Getting to be at a horse show and, like, have her watch you? Like, was There anything she said about watching you show?
Becca
Yeah, she thought she was, like, it was fun to watch you ride. No, no. I will say it was hard because I was like, I felt like I was missing pieces of hers. Like, I felt bad that I wasn't just behind her, like, pitter pattering.
Katie
But she had like a whole team.
Becca
I know, but it wasn't her mom.
Katie
Oh, she was fine. You're gonna. You're gonna see that she. Because she's been at the age where she listens to you writing.
Becca
Oh, yeah, that's good.
Katie
Up until about, like, I would say I've. I've noticed in the. The lessons until about, like the last couple of months, she tunes me out and now it needs. I don't even think it can be me anymore.
Becca
No, I know, Steph. It has to be Stephanie or her trainer.
Katie
Yeah. I don't even think it could be me at this point. I don't think she'll listen to either of us.
Becca
No. I asked at the show a few times. I said, hey, Stephanie, will you tell her to go do this? Because I knew it would get done if Stephanie said it.
Katie
Yeah, there's. There's something about that. Like, even.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
Like, I remember showing against so many trainers, kids, and they had trainers.
Becca
Oh, yeah. I mean, my mom wasn't even in the horse world, and I remember going by on the rail and she'd be like, quiet hands or something like that. I'd be like, you know, nothing. Don't speak to me as a teenager. You know what I mean? My hands would be all over the place. Like, she was right. But it couldn't come from my mom.
Katie
No. No. And so I remember, like, these. These girls that are like world champions in the horsemanship and like, amazing riders, and it's like, their moms don't teach them. Their moms are phenomenal trainers or their dad's a phenomenal trainer and they don't.
Becca
No, you stop listening to. You think your parents know nothing.
Katie
Yeah, exactly. So I think. And like, I've been around your children for, I mean, just their entire lives and like, they ignore you all the time. I. I'm in that boat now. Like, I don't think she'll even listen to me.
Becca
No, there's no authority anymore. You can probably bribe them.
Katie
But that was. That was fun. And like, you know, I think as she's. She's also at a weird age where she's not quite. What's the word? Self sufficient yet at the shows, but she's enough where she can do like some things herself. But she's not where you can just like leave her alone or like, whatever.
Becca
And she can't go lying.
Katie
So I think it'll be even more fun when it's like, oh, hey, let's just take our horses to warm up. And she's, you know, can just go do it with you instead of it being like, oh no, did I get her on? Oh, no. Like, you know, there's that aspect to still.
Becca
And it's nice too. Especially this show was like smaller and like felt very safe for me to be like, hey, run back to the barn. I mean, I still was like, remember if somebody approaches you, you scream. But like I would. I sent her to the stall like, hey, go get this or go do that. Where she's.
Katie
She's a great little runner.
Becca
She is. Go get. We need a. Do we need a Diet Coke. And she was running all over place. But yeah, she.
Katie
I can't remember what I. I was like, hey, you won't ride that horse right there. I can't remember what I had her do. I had her do something. It was fun.
Becca
I had her picking stalls. I mean, she needs to learn to do all the things.
Katie
Yeah. And that's the thing I didn't know. So when I got back into it, I only showed as an amateur one year. Like I was a youth kid, the majority of everything. And so even though I had some like higher end trainers and like was going to these big shows, like I lot, we always had to pick our own stalls and like wrap our horse's legs at night and like do the lunging and you know, all the things. All the things. And so I didn't realize until recently when you pay for like a full service as an amateur, you get like full service.
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
Even like when you do full service as a youth kid, they're teaching you
Becca
to take care of it.
Katie
The like the character side of things where it's like you have to do all, all the things even if you have this high end trainer or this high end horses. And so like going. It was. It made me feel a little guilty at some points being like someone else just wrapped their legs before I even got back there. Like I went back and I'm like, they're all buttoned up for the night, you know. But it also like as like a working adult and as like a, you know, you don't have the time and then like it's a blessing that you get to go to this horror show. It was just so nice knowing that there Was someone, like, having my back and like, I got to do the really fun part and have the best time. And then like, you're exhausted and you're like, oh my gosh, someone helped me do that. And like, it was, it was. That was. That part was very nice.
Unidentified Male 1
So someone is at the door.
Katie
Do you hear that? Can someone open the door? We all went silent and we just
Becca
heard,
Katie
be careful because she's probably right there. She was outside the door. Just call. She didn't bark, she didn't scratch. All we heard was snores. So if we wanted a part two of talking about horses with Becca, let us know in the comments. But we're gonna end this with a segment that I think is quite hilarious.
Becca
I think it's hilarious.
Katie
So what are you laughing at?
Unidentified Male 2
I thought you were just gonna be like. So anyway, thanks for watching. Oh, yeah.
Unidentified Male 1
Okay. If you want a part two, let us know. Bye.
Katie
Because we could ramble about horses, ramble about our. The old days, all the things. And we have so many more things coming up that I think we probably are gonna have to have a part two here soon. But let me know if you have any actual specific questions in the comments. But there's something I want to end us off with that I think is actually quite hilarious. So I don't know if y' all have seen these AI headlines, if you've. If you've seen, not even with just like your favorite influencers, but like real news outlets and like real, you know, world issues. It's hard to know what to believe anymore because just so many fake things that like AI has just made it easy to spin a lot of things. And I would like to end this with some things that I found out about myself this week. So here we go. So a couple of these, you might have seen a post that I made where I kind of went through these, but they're too funny not to share with with you guys. I haven't, I don't think, gotten to. To laugh about them together with you yet. So let me, let me see here.
Becca
I sent you one yesterday.
Katie
Did you send me one yesterday?
Becca
They made. You're in the hospital bed and you're cross eyed.
Katie
Oh, I did see that one. I was. I looked haggard. Looked rough. Pull that one up.
Becca
Okay. It says 10 minutes ago, Katie Van like shares first photo from the hospital. And in response to weeks of speculation. And it's just her.
Unidentified Male 1
What did she say?
Becca
She didn't say anything.
Unidentified Male 2
What was a speculation?
Becca
Doesn't say.
Unidentified Male 2
Oh, rough.
Katie
I'm just I'm. I look almost dead.
Becca
They got your bun right.
Unidentified Male 2
You look gaunt. Yeah.
Becca
You have a good tan.
Katie
I'm jaundice.
Unidentified Male 2
You're looking.
Becca
You are a little jaundice.
Katie
So if you didn't know Jonathan and I, or not even Jonathan, because I don't know who this man is. We had twins. Twins.
Unidentified Male 1
What'd you name them?
Katie
And I have a full beat of makeup on in the hospital with you now.
Unidentified Male 2
That part is.
Becca
She will.
Katie
I don't know, because I. I have no problem looking like this every day.
Unidentified Male 2
That's true.
Becca
For the pictures, you'll want makeup.
Unidentified Male 2
Maybe we never got ours.
Katie
So I had twins.
Unidentified Male 2
Separate story.
Becca
Nate, take them.
Katie
Also, apparently, even though I've only known him for a couple weeks now, I had a bronze statue of Hollywood made and put at the entrance of Running Springs, which I have just labeled as Horse Farm.
Becca
I know.
Unidentified Male 2
That was the.
Becca
Cool Running Springs. Looking great.
Katie
Beautiful. Cobblestone.
Becca
I was gonna say cobblestone.
Unidentified Male 2
That's hilarious. Yeah, that is something that needs to be done.
Unidentified Male 1
I did have a big horse farm. I would just name it Horse Farm,
Katie
and it would be make a bronze statue of a horse that you've owned for two weeks.
Unidentified Male 2
In his legacy, of all of them, that's the least not believable to. To the.
Unidentified Male 1
To the extent. And I feel like I already do that. That's my humor. The label maker that we have at home on the. On the coffee machine, I print out. I printed out a label that says coffee, and I put it on the coffee maker at home. It's our. The only person who's gonna see this is me and Maisie, and I laugh funny.
Becca
Macy does not laugh.
Unidentified Male 1
No, she thought it was quirky.
Becca
She probably was like, sweet Macy's.
Katie
Okay, this one probably is my favorite. I did not screenshot the caption of it, but it was something along the lines of, like, Jonathan wiped away tears as his wife Katie achieved her dreams and, you know, whatever. So, again, they did put a little weight on him. He has tears going down his face. I want to zoom in on this.
Becca
This is the one I screenshot and send to him when I need to tell him things that he may not like.
Unidentified Male 1
Big and sad.
Becca
You know, you can make stickers.
Katie
Well, I sent this to our group chat.
Becca
That's what I did with it.
Katie
I sent this to our group chat, and they also now use it.
Becca
I'm telling you, I've been using it
Katie
like I'm in a group chat with the.
Becca
I know which one you're talking about.
Katie
Yes. And they also now use it. Also the amount of. You know, for someone that just had twins, we're already pregnant again. And I have like little pregnancy announcement with a random horse that. I don't know who that is. I don't know who that is. And the man doesn't look like my husband. Here's another one.
Becca
Pace yourselves.
Katie
I know another one. And then I guess my head looks too big for my body. It's weird. But I had a little bikini pregnancy announcement as well. We went on a tropical vacation lately.
Becca
It's your baby moon.
Katie
I wish. I do look real cute in that swimsuit though. And then there was another. Oh yeah, I used Karen in one of my pregnancy announcements. They got it right that I wear croc. I would wear crocs in my pregnancy announcement. But we had Karen. All those things I don't see. AI scares me because like I know what photo they used to make this. And the fact that they could add Jonathan in, change my clothes. Like it's.
Becca
Wait till they start doing videos.
Katie
It's there. They already are.
Becca
They are.
Katie
Yeah, they already are.
Becca
That creeps me out.
Katie
It's insane.
Becca
So my kids aren't on the Internet, but it's.
Unidentified Male 1
It's pretty easy. At least right now it's at least text. I can tell you if something was written by AI. So easy.
Katie
Right? Well also this one I would love if I had one this cute. Again, I don't know who this man is. But like this still isn't my husband. But like that's a really cute little pregnancy announcement. Like that's a really cute maternity pick. I love the dress. That's my vibe. It's good. Yeah, she's out. She is out.
Becca
Let me see it.
Katie
Like would love again mystery, but I don't know who this man is. I think that's supposed to be VS Code Red.
Becca
I think so too. But it's. It's a little grown up. Glenn with his haircut.
Katie
It's like Jonathan, they keep just doing it like a little off, you know.
Becca
We start getting you pretty close.
Katie
I would like to offer myself condolences because Karen died. Karen died forever in our hearts. A life well lived.
Unidentified Male 1
When did she pass?
Katie
This was a couple weeks ago now. I did have the. I did have the vet out to put her full alert in today, but she's been going through it because here's also here's the photos that are like my fave. So they have us. Apparently she got sick. So we're in what I assume is the foaling stall. At the big barn, I have my Crocs on, which, again, very accurate, but someone else is holding a lantern. And it looks like. I don't know who these people are. These are random people. And I have on my sunglasses. Again, it's like they. They got some things, right. Leggings or socks, but I don't know why I'm sitting there holding her with a lantern. And then apparently, when I went to go get Maggie from the vet, I put a headlamp on.
Becca
You had to get it and you had to really.
Katie
I put a headlamp on. And then we were running some tests on the baby horse proper. I don't know.
Unidentified Male 1
That's how you know it's AI you and a headlamp.
Katie
I don't do headlamps, but I'm like,
Unidentified Male 2
lanterns could be a move, though.
Becca
Yeah. We should lantern. Like oil lanterns. Yeah. And then every, like, movie where, like, a barn burns down. It's an oil. Yeah. Not to it. Every single one of them, the door
Unidentified Male 1
blew open and the gust of wind falls off.
Katie
I don't know what horse this is, but we called EMS for it.
Becca
EMS?
Unidentified Male 2
Is there a horse EMS?
Katie
This is the EMS Dr. Matthew. And there's four of them. And Jonathan's, like, clutching me and is very concerned. And I'm like, it's in the middle of the arena, like, right next to some trail poles. Yeah.
Unidentified Male 2
Horse ems would be a cool idea, though.
Unidentified Male 1
EVMs. It wouldn't be a Emergency veterinarian Medical Service.
Katie
This one looks like I have a Christmas album coming out. It's called. It's titled A Voice From Heaven, and it's Jonathan again. I don't know who that is. That's not Jonathan.
Unidentified Male 1
It looks like a book you would
Katie
read, but I think it's a. It looks like either a book or looks calm. Again, library. So that I guess have a Christmas album coming out and then. Or it looks like possibly I'm the wife that died at the beginning of the movie.
Becca
I thought it was like a Hallmark.
Katie
It's like I had recorded some music, but I died before it could be released. And I'm the wife that died at the beginning of the movie. And then Jonathan, like, went on a whole thing to release my music. So it's a voice from heaven. Get.
Becca
Looks like a Hallmark holiday movie.
Katie
And I'm gonna leave. There's more, but I'll leave you with this one. Oh, actually, just kidding. One more.
Becca
You're boring me.
Katie
I have a Netflix show coming out. Let me just tell you, if I had a Netflix show coming out. It would not be called A Bond beyond words.
Becca
Who's the horse?
Katie
I think it's. I think it's.
Unidentified Male 2
What would it be?
Becca
A Bond with no words.
Katie
And why does my jacket only have one sleeve? I'm sleeveless on one side. You're starting a new down the other. But anyway, Netflix is picking it up. A quiet life dedicated to the herd.
Unidentified Male 2
That's what you should call your, like. You know how musicians have, like, names for their fan bases?
Becca
Yeah.
Katie
Katie Van Slyke, Times the modern cattle woman. Uniting tradition and innovation to feed the world. Same photo is what it's called. So I was on Time magazine. That's another thing.
Unidentified Male 2
Who are you? What are you feeding the world with your nature?
Katie
Horses, I guess. Cows, I don't know. But the last one is we were arrested.
Unidentified Male 1
Oh, no. What did you do?
Katie
I don't know. Breaking 15 minutes ago. Katie Van's like. And then I screenshot it, so I don't know, but it just shows in the background. Just loose horses eating alfalfa on the ground. It has police there, paparazzi there.
Becca
That's factual.
Unidentified Male 1
The real crime was that top the little.
Katie
I love a little cold shoulder moment. I love a little cold shoulder moment. And again, they made Jonathan a little pudgy. So anyway, those are some things I found out about myself this week.
Unidentified Male 1
Nice.
Katie
Hope y' all enjoyed. I hope what you enjoyed more is the fact that that Frankie very quietly just snored at the door until we let her in, and then she just passed out for the last 20 minutes of this.
Becca
I think I'm at the Stealer this weekend.
Katie
You think? Did this solidify it?
Becca
I need this.
Katie
I'm going out of town for a couple days. And she's like, I need that.
Becca
I need it.
Katie
You know, for someone who has called my bulldogs an abomination for so long,
Becca
you do like this one selection.
Katie
You do like this one.
Becca
I do like her. I like Winnie. I just don't think they'd survive in nature.
Katie
All right, well, I gotta go put this little baby to bed and do a couple other things. So thank you for making time in your busy schedule to come hang out with us for a little bit. If y' all aren't already following Rebecca on. Just kidding. Becca Miller on Tik Tok and Facebook. Go do that.
Becca
And Instagram. Working on my Instagram.
Katie
Okay, so sorry. Instagram as well. Failing. It's part. It's important. And let us know if you want to see us here again. What do you want us to talk about? Because we've got history.
Becca
We do.
In this lively, candid episode, Katie welcomes her longtime friend Becca for a heartfelt, humorous conversation about getting back into horse showing after extended breaks, recalling their childhood shenanigans at horse events, and swapping stories from life on the farm and in the show ring. The episode crescendos with a hilarious and eye-opening segment where Katie exposes some bizarre, AI-generated “news” and photos about her life, reflecting on the impact of misinformation online.
"I'm not brave. Like, I, I will just flat out tell you I'm not brave on a horse... I've never been the one being like, let me bronk it out."
– Katie (05:32)
"I had no idea what to register for. I was so confused."
– Becca (08:19)
"You were supposed to be watching me... All she hears is—'And the boy's like, Katie!'"
– Katie, recalling Becca getting distracted by boys at shows and her falling off her horse (19:34)
"If it comes down to choosing between a horse show or going to the beach with my family, I'm going to the beach."
– Becca (22:57)
"AI scares me because... the fact that they could add Jonathan in, change my clothes... it's insane."
– Katie (35:40)
| Timestamp | Topic | |---------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 - 06:11 | Re-entering the show ring after long breaks; different riding personalities | | 06:11 - 12:00 | First adult horse show, zero pressure, fun and freedom | | 12:00 - 18:19 | Horse show logistics, class level confusions, AQHA entry processes | | 18:19 - 29:36 | Childhood shenanigans, Gator near-accident, showboy distractions, memorable early show days | | 29:36 - 36:13 | Adult realities: travel, family balance, setting realistic goals for showing | | 36:13 - 39:53 | Raising/showing with kids, “full-service” showing experiences, reflections on training | | 39:53 - End | AI-generated fake headlines/images, discussion & mockery of misinformation, dangers/influence of AI content |
Lighthearted, self-deprecating, deeply honest, and endearingly Southern. The conversation is musically punctuated with laughter, friendly teasing, and the unmistakable warmth of true friendship.
This episode captures the joy of reconnecting with childhood passions as adults, the real-life logistics of balancing family and hobbies, and the surreal, often hilarious consequences of living life partially “online.” The closing segment especially offers a vital, comedic caution about the credibility of digital content in an era where AI can conjure up deeply convincing, but entirely imaginary, versions of anyone’s story.
If you’re a lifelong horse lover, nostalgic for old show days, or weary of internet fakes, this is a can’t-miss listen from Katie and Becca!