The Face Behind The Blonde Cowgirl
Now you know the story of The Blonde Cowgirl. I never got to formally introduce myself.
I'm Caitlyn Williams. I was born in Southern Illinois, and sadly I'm still here (Just kidding. I'd much rather live out west, though). I was raised in a small-ish town of 6000 people, where everyone knows everyone. I graduated from high school in 2019. I decided not to attend college, for many reasons. While still in high school, I began working for my dad. I still work for him to this day.
Before starting The Blonde Cowgirl, I dabbled with photography and designing various types of graphics. Creativity has always been a trait I exhibited.
I get my creativity from my mom. She paints and re-sculpts model horses. If you're familiar with Breyer horses, you know what I'm talking about. You can check out her Facebook page, here. She has done that for as long as I can remember. I would see how she did things and I would copy her and do the same things, obviously not as well as her considering I was a child! She would always hold her paint brush in her mouth while she was doing other things, so of course I did it too :) Also, you can see the little horse I was "painting".
I picked up the hobby of photography while working at my mom's boarding and grooming kennel. I began taking pictures of all the clients animals that were boarding there. It turned out to be something I was pretty good at.
I've always been an animal person. I can't remember a time in my life that I didn't have some type on animal. Whether it's dogs, cats, fish, hamsters, birds, goats, horses, or even a flying squirrel (yes, we released it once we nursed it back to health). Currently our herd consists of my red and Blue Heelers, Dally and Bennie; our old Chihuahua, Jiggy; our two goats, Clover and Steve, a Quaker Parrot, Tiki; and 8 cats, Cricket, Cheetoh, Nemo, Hector, Minnee, Kitten, Uno, and Emma.
And no, not all of those animals live in the house... LOL. We have a pole barn for all of our animals. That pole barn has been transformed into a few things over the years. First, it was a horse barn. Then, it got turned into a boarding and grooming kennel. Next, it became a home for just our animals upon the closing of the kennel. Now, it is getting transformed BACK into a barn for horses. Which I am SUPER excited for! I might make a vlog on it sometime??? I don't know.
Horses have always been something I love to be around. I wasn't raised with horses or riding them. I had horses when I was younger. Then, priorities went elsewhere. In 2019, I found a horse that needed a new home. I couldn't pass him up.
If you're wondering if I brought him home, I did. Without either of my parents knowing... I'm so thankful for this horse because he got me back into horses.
Quickly after getting that horse, I began to venture into Western Pleasure. Yes, I know it's one of the most hated disciplines in the industry. I'm gonna be one of those people that say: Those horses are bred to move like that. It is more natural for a Western Pleasure bred horse to move that way, than for a cutting bred horse. You know what I'm saying? Western Pleasure was always something I enjoyed ever since I was young. In my small town, we have the Fairgrounds that always hosts various types of horse shows. My mom and I lived there when I was younger, watching every type of horse show. Western pleasure was my favorite to watch. It looked so smooth, relaxing, and easy (it's actually not as easy as you think, for anyone wondering). I always hoped to show in the same arena where I grew up watching shows. Luckily, I got to accomplish that goal in 2019. I didn't have a show horse, so I was showing a horse from a barn about and hour away from me. Little did my parents know, after that I was set on getting my own show horse. I did exactly that. In November 2019 we purchased a bay Quarter Horse mare, by the beloved Lazy Loper.
At this point, I didn't have a functioning barn. I kept her at a trainers barn in Marion, which is conveniently only 45 minutes away from my house. It turns out I needed a horse that was a little stronger in the pleasure field, so we sold Ava so I could get something a little more advanced. I have yet to get another horse, but hopefully I'll find what I'm looking for soon. I'm on the fence about switching disciplines, too.
(*stay tuned for updates on building our barn, by the way!)
I have a love for Jeep Wranglers, too. My first car was actually a lifted black Jeep Wrangler. It turned out to be too much for a 16-year-old. Sadly, we traded it for my car, a Mercedes CLA-250. It was a nice car but I always wanted another Jeep. Thankfully, I got another Jeep (a white one this time) when I turned 18. Of course I wanted to lift it and put big tires on it. My dad and I did exactly that, as you can see in the pictures below.
Now you know a little bit about me. Over time, I'm sure you'll learn more about me from this blog. I don't know where I'm going with this whole blog thing. There's gonna be personal posts and The Blonde Cowgirl related posts. I post on here every Friday, so keep checking back!
Also, vlogging... Should I vlog? Comment below. I don't know if my life is interesting enough for that... LOL
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