By Jennifer Klitzke

It is not easy to discern whether I should persevere through adversity or if am I fighting to keep a closed door open. Trials have a way of shaping me into who I am today and who I believe God is preparing me to becoming. Where I am today is not meant to be my final destination, but a means to it.

When I bought my Tennessee walking horse mare Gift of Freedom as a three year old, I had no intention of showing. I just wanted a smooth horse to ride. However, following the open doors have led me back to the dressage ring after a 15-year absence—ironically on a horse that doesn’t trot!

A month after purchasing my mare, I joined the Minnesota Walking Horse Association (MWHA), and a year later the association pleaded for more show participants. That open door led us to give it a try. Since then many MWHA experiences have shaped us: gaited dressage clinics with Bucky Spark that have helped me learn how to ride a head-shaking horse on-the-bit; Walking Horse rail classes that have led us to the State Fair and Minnesota Horse Expo—two life-long dreams come true; the gaited trail trials that have inspired me to tinker with the thought of eventing a gaited horse; and new friendships that have been kindled along the way.

No doubt we’ve grown during the last five years, but we’ve reached a cross-roads. Do I continue to persevere at Walking Horse shows that my horse doesn’t seem to want to be at? Am I just fighting to keep a closed door open? It’s not easy to discern.

Dressage schooling shows seem to be where this odd-duck gaited dressage duo is being welcomed, and it’s where my mare seems to excel. Doors have been opening in the schooling dressage circuit, the Western Dressage Association, and gaited dressage demonstrations among mainstream western and traditional dressage groups. These opportunities would not have been possible had I not followed the open doors leading up to them. For this I am grateful for the MWHA experiences that have prepared us.

Do I know what open doors are awaiting us next? Not really, but I’ll keep you posted along the way.