Welcome one, welcome all to The Amateur Experience with me, your host, Sydney: a semi-successful online influencer, full time horse weirdo who has big dreams and seemingly no regard for the risk both financial and physical.
I, as the resident pinnacle of the adult amateur (you may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like), have been tasked by Eventing Nation to bring you the real stories from life as an adult amateur — from my own trials and tribulations (which are never-ending and ridiculous), to those of my peers. We’ll even be taking a look at amateurs in other horse disciplines to see if there’s anything to be learned from them.
This sport would crumble and dissolve like sugar in a bottle of rum were it not for the adult amateurs carrying it on their backs. Yet, we often do not hear their stories.
Why is that?
Well, it doesn’t matter anymore because I’m bringing you the stories. The real stories of the literal blood, sweat, and tears that amateurs pour into this sport for literally no monetary gain. The term amateur, which is so often derisively flung at anyone not deemed a good enough rider to hang with the cool kids, actually just means someone who does something without getting paid.
I ask you, is it not more admirable to do something for money or because you love it? In today’s world, where money is quite literally everything, is it not actually a little brave to do something for the sheer love of the game?
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Rachel Mulvey and Reminisce. Photo by JJ Sillman.
Bear with me for my first entry into this series because we are going to be talking about one of my personal heroes: Rachel Mulvey. Hey! I wanted to start the series off strong. I met Rachel because she works part-time at the barn I board at in addition to being a small animal vet at an emergency clinic. See? You doubted me, but Rachel rules. She has a whole degree AND she happens to be riding Preliminary (as well as Prix-St-Georges level dressage) with her chestnut mare, Remi (short for Reminisce).
Rachel has been riding since “…before I was born. My parents both rode, and I was on horses pretty early on.” However, she decided to become a vet rather than a professional rider. I asked her if she had any regrets becoming an amateur and her only regret is that she wished she “had done a working student gig in high school.” Which is understandable, being a working student is a canon event for most horse kids.
Rachel bought Remi seven years ago. After her first eventing horse, a 17-hand Shagya Arabian/Thoroughbred cross, passed away her senior year of high school Rachel focused on veterinary school and it wasn’t until her senior year she was able to start riding again. The barn owner at Freedom of Movement had Remi and suggested Rachel lease her while riding there.
“She was only seven and had done dressage and some jumping before. I fall in love with pretty much any horse I meet so it wasn’t hard to love her,” she says on first meeting Remi. When Rachel graduated she asked if she could buy Remi on payments from the barn owner who, I’m sure sensing Rachel’s extremely good vibes, said yes. Since then the two have formed quite the relationship.
That is actually what strikes me most about Rachel as a horsewoman. Even with how very busy Rachel is, she always spends extra time to make sure Remi feels her best. Rachel often works long hours at the clinic and is only able to ride Remi four days a week. She isn’t particularly worried about this: “Thankfully, my mare now is well trained and really doesn’t need five or six days of work.” Even with such a time crunch Rachel takes the time to give Remi a thorough groom and have her sit in her BEMER blanket for 20 minutes. There is no feeling of being rushed, just Rachel quietly talking to Remi as they get ready. This is what I think makes Rachel so special.
Rachel Mulvey enjoys a learning session with 5* judge Peter Gray.
She certainly hasn’t always felt the most confident. This is something many riders struggle with and Rachel isn’t immune. However, she works incredibly hard on herself to help overcome these feelings. Ultimately, this is why she decided to settle at Overlook Farm training with Sara Kozumplik.
“I met Sara at a clinic I rode at in Texas, right around the time I was starting to lose confidence because of an accident I had with my OTTB at the time,” she says. “The positive way she taught just really worked with my brain. She has an ability to get me out of my head, and ride more effectively.”
They got along so well that when Rachel had an opportunity to move to Florida to be closer to her husband’s family she also decided to train with Sara full time. Though Sara’s training has certainly helped, Rachel has also posted about working with a sports psychologist to continue to improve her own confidence. My favorite part about this is that you will now frequently hear Rachel singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” while tearing around cross country to help calm her (and Remi’s) nerves. I can’t actually describe to you how delightful it is to hear. It works too, Rachel and Remi recently finished up another Preliminary at Rocking Horse Winter III and are on course for the CCI* at Terranova this weekend.
To me, this is the spirit of the adult amateur. Though she is not paid to ride (and thus isn’t technically a professional) the way in which Rachel conducts herself around this sport is nothing short of top notch. She works to improve herself, she spares no expense in making sure Remi always feels her best, and she is, above all, incredibly kind. I know when I ask Rachel’s opinion on something I can trust her to tell the truth but she will do it with empathy. She is quick to help and even quicker to cheer for everyone. She rides with a soft hand and is quick to forgive. It is clear in the way her mare adores her that Remi is extremely grateful to have a mother like Rachel.
To discount a rider like Rachel as “just an amateur” would be a mighty shame, wouldn’t it? When asked how she wished the sport would support amateurs like her more she said, “Grants would be fantastic! Maybe I’m missing them but then only ones I’ve seen have been education based, or for upper levels. The majority of us amateurs are doing lower levels – it would be nice to have the support there as well.”
Rachel Mulvey and Reminisce. Photo by JJ Sillman.
While I wouldn’t consider Preliminary a lower level as it still frightens and haunts me, I understand what Rachel is saying. It would be nice for there to be opportunities for growth within the amateur group of riders. There’s certainly plenty of us and we do all have big dreams worth funding. Sure, we may never ride for an international team, but we are doing everything we can to support the growth of the sport. Isn’t that worth an investment? I think amateurs deserve to get as much out of the sport as they put in every day. This isn’t just the sport “giving back” it’s the sport actively investing in the foundation that keeps it running year after year.
Ultimately, I’m happy for now if we just take the time to acknowledge riders like Rachel who are doing incredible work in multiple sectors. Sure, she can ride incredibly but she can also fix your cat’s diabetes. What range! Did we not once praise the Renaissance Man? Is a Jack-of-all-trades worth nothing?
Yes, it’s exhausting but it’s important. What Rachel is doing is meaningful. I asked her what keeps her motivated. “I like to have goals. My favorite thing about riding with Sara Kozumplik is she helps outline your short term and long term goals, then we work to achieve them. If we fall short, we re-direct. She always has a plan. I’m a planner and I like having some sort of direction at all times. If I know I’m aiming for a one-star or Prelim, then I work that much harder to achieve it. And knowing she knows we’re capable, gives me confidence.”
Rachel Mulvey and Reminisce. Photo by JJ Sillman.
Rachel, and many riders out there just like her, are athletes with drive and ambition the same as any professional. They just also have a whole other job. It’s an incredibly difficult balance and one that isn’t always the most successful. By her own admission, Rachel does not balance the rest of her life that well. “Other life stuff happens when I have time and energy for it,” she says.
Yet amateurs like Rachel manage this difficult schedule and still put the horse first. Isn’t that the true sign of a horseman? To me, being a good horseman is more important than any professional accolades and for that Rachel, and riders like her, deserve to be commended.
You can also check out Rachel and Remi tearing up cross country in the first person on Rachel’s channel @DVMEventer on TikTok and @dvm_eventer on Instagram. (Though she doesn’t do funny commentary because I threatened her to the fullest extent of the law. Let this be a warning).
