Who is The Sweaty Equestrian?

Welcome! I’m an endurance has-been. And an endurance wanna-be. I’m also forty-something, short, fitness-obsessed, and a pretty good home cook.
 
A few of you might remember my blog, The Barb Wire, which had its heyday between 2007 and 2014. It chronicled my journey with a small herd of Barb horses and one Arabian. Maybe you followed along as I studied horse training and made my initial forays into endurance. Maybe you even read my companion blog about fitness and nutrition.

I was very determined, in those days. 
 
Since then, I completed my first two hundred-mile rides. I tried canyoneering and ride-and-tie and learned to ski and ran a few trail races and got my first pull-up.

I also burned my house down and broke my back in a fall. I walked away from a big job that wasn’t worth it anymore. I struggled to stay in the endurance game for a variety of frustrating reasons.

I broke up with a partner whose path didn’t match mine, and fell in love with another whose did. I lost faith. I gained wisdom. In the long, dark winter, I rested.

When spring came and the literal and figurative smoke cleared, I found myself still here. Still revolving around the same suns: horses, fitness, words. And so, The Sweaty Equestrian was born.
 
My new blog, Fit to Ride, is about finding the the way. To stay fit. To break back into endurance. To get comfortable with being uncomfortable. To walk the tightrope between improvement and acceptance.

I hope you’ll share the journey.

~ Tamara Baysinger (AERC #M38090, Northwest Region)

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New here? These are some good places to start:
Learning to Walk
How I Think About Fitness
How I Think About Food