What Does It Mean To Be A Horse Girl?
Horse Girl energy is having a moment.
From the truly magical display on the Chanel runway at Haute Couture Week in Paris, to Hailey Bieber becoming “the epitome of Horse Girl cool” (<their words, not ours) in a recent Victoria’ Secret ad, to the plaits and mane look at the 2021 Met Gala, and even this fashion piece from the Wall Street Journal on how to “look” like an equestrian without actually ever riding a horse, there is suddenly this mainstream desire to be part of our world (well, to some extent).
Perhaps this is nothing new. Horse Girl energy and the traditional fashion of sharp coats, jodhpurs and tall leather boots have been around for a while. But this shift feels different. It’s a vibe.
As a life-long Horse Girl, I’ve got mixed feelings about this.
On one hand, I love any exposure we can get to our little glittery, magical corner of the world. Horses and everything about them make the world a happier place. Horse sport can use some good press – with three Olympic disciplines, we hardly get any mainstream television attention and there’s still so much confusion from the real world about what we do. No, horses don’t do “all the work.” No, it’s not the same as racing. Yes, we are a team – it’s all about partnership.
But is Hailey Bieber really the best choice to represent all of us under the banner of “Horse Girl cool”?
All this is just a long-winded way to say no matter the marketing scheme or the filters on Instagram, they can’t change what it means to be a Horse Girl.
A Horse Girl is fiercely passionate about the animal, its care and its health. A Horse Girl loves the feeling that comes with just being near horses… not necessarily the ribbons that come from the show ring or the adrenaline of galloping and jumping. Horse Girls aren’t afraid to muck stalls, hoof it through the cold/rain/mud/heat to care for their horse. The horse’s needs comes before that of any Horse Girl (and sometimes their human love ones).
Horse Girl friendships last a lifetime – they bond people of different ages, backgrounds, lifestyles and personalities all by one common theme – the love the horse.
Horse Girls don’t even have to own a horse to be one.
And a Horse Girl isn’t just about girls, Horse Girl energy is big enough for everyone who identifies as a horse lover. There’s room for everybody here.