December 2020 FRC Member Newsletter

The Season of Gratitude
Natalie Shembra
In the season of Thanksgiving and the holidays, it’s common to reflect on what we’re thankful
for. Admittedly, I don’t do that enough. Recently, I’ve reflected on what brought me to this
amazing part of horse country – the answer is a horse. Not just any horse – a life-changing
horse.
Having my last childhood horse pass away as a senior in high school, I did not have a horse
through college and grad school. Ever the typical Type A planner, I intended to get out of
school and work for exactly 5 years to save up for a small farm, as I always dreamed of keeping
my horses in my back yard. Life has a funny way of giving you exactly what you want, not
always in the timing you had in mind. Just a few months out of school and not even having
moved to the Greenville area yet for the “big job,” I got a call from a childhood friend who
asked if I wanted her former horse, Paris.
She had been sold to someone in Florida,
and for some reason they wanted to send
her back (I have theories she got injured
and they did not want to deal, but that’s
just my speculation). My friend sent me
two pictures and it was love at first sight
(everyone has a “type” right?!). I dragged
my mom to Beaufort to look at her, and
let’s be honest, I had no idea what I was
doing after 7 years away from horses. Paris seemed kind and was beautiful and also FREE, so
guess who got a horse?!
Fast forward to 6 months of apartment living and paying board at a place that let’s just say,
didn’t meet basic standards, much less mine. So what’s a girl to do? Completely forget the 5
year farm savings plan and buy Paris a farm of course! I’m not sure a bank should have made
that loan to a girl on an entry-level accountant’s salary…. but who needs the AC or heat
turned on?! The poor realtor drove me all over the upstate, but nothing was what I had
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