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The paint horse showing industry affects more than 110,000 people directly and thousands more indirectly. Some may say that showing horses is just a sport, or that it is just a hobby, but showing horses is much more than either. Behind any sport or hobby is a business and more importantly a culture. Sometimes hard to distinguish between the business aspects and the relational aspects, showing horses parallels modern day life, and in this light both business agreements and relationship building thrive.

Still, the richness of any culture is dependent upon how much time and effort is devoted to it, which is no different than any friendship or intimate relationship. Showing horses is a demanding sport. It demands time, money, flexibility and sacrifice not just from participating members but also from actively participating family members, loved ones and even viewers. Some may describe it as a fantasyland, where a person can go and play on a horse for the weekend avoiding real life, and maybe that's exactly what it is.

Nonetheless, the Hornbergers are one of these families involved in the business and culture of showing paint horses; they have made the sacrifices and have reaped the benefits of this dynamic industry.

The bedside alarm sounds and lights come to life in the small hotel suite. The time is 5:30 am. Pam Hornberger is the first one awake as she raises the covers from her warm body, looks at the clock and panic sets in as she thinks about the stressful day ahead of her. Trying not to disturb her husband, she trots over to the sleeper-sofa where her daughter remains asleep. Reminding herself of the time, she shakes her daughter and says, “It's time to get up, honey.”

Amy Hornberger is the second one awake, yawning as she pulls herself from her warm blankets. Slowly, she makes her way from her sleeper-sofa-bed to the shower, and then turns on the water. It is now 5:40 am.

Meanwhile, Pam is sorting through clothes and deciding which decorative outfit will best present Amy in this morning's Amateur Horsemanship Class, which starts at 8:30 am. “The outfit is an important aspect of showing horses. It can make a person stand out in appearance from the rest of the competitors; however, you still have to perform well.” The shower turns off, the door opens and Amy walks out bouncing with excitement and anticipation. “Amy, come put your clothes on and then dry your hair. We can put your makeup on at the arena. We need to be out of here in 10 minutes. I still need to lunge Dundee and then tack him up.” The time is now 5:50 am.

Amy is a little jumpy this morning. Though she is excited about competing she is always nervous at the same time. Showing horses is not like competing in an individual event or even a team event, because one is relying on the performance, skill and willingness of an animal. “Dealing with horses is trying mainly because you cannot talk to them; however, it is a great feeling to be on a horse. They become your best friend.”

“Amy come on and put on your clothes,” Pam says sternly. Amy makes her way over to the bed, where the clothes are laid out, and slips into the uncomfortable, aqua and tan sparkling body suit. After zipping up her pants and putting on her boots she makes her way over to the bathroom once again to dry her hair.

When the hairdryer comes on, Bob Hornberger is finally the last one awake. Wiping his eyes, coughing and then reaching for the remote he turns on the television to the local news. He remains in bed so as “not to disturb the girls while they are getting ready,” he claims. During this lull time he just lies in bed, watches t.v., tries to sleep a little more or reads a book. He just does his best to stay out of the girls' way, to calm their nerves and relax.

While Amy dries her hair, Pam quickly jumps in the shower. Before Amy is done drying her hair, Pam emerges from the shower and dries off. She then changes into blue jeans, a blue and white horizontally stripped shirt and brown slip on shoes. Amy's hair is done. “Come on we have to go,” Pam says. Walking hurriedly, they both grab their cell phones, a room key and their respective purses. “Don't forget your makeup,” says Pam. “It's in the car,” Amy replies. They open the door and are finally on their way to the show arena. The time is now 6:02 am.

At last, Bob is alone. While the girls need to be at the arena at 6:15 am, he is not required to be there until 8:00 am, just in time to watch Amy ride. So until then he watches t.v., slowly gets ready, and finally makes his way to Starbucks for his morning brew. Bob has little to do with the preparation and showing of the horse; however, he loves to watch his daughter ride and do well.

At the arena, Pam goes into the tack stall and comes out with a whip and lunge line in hand. She heads over to Dundee's stall, unlocks the door, pats him on the head and then they head out toward the practice arena.

Pam is what people call a “horseshow mom,” a variant of the well-known soccer mom. “Horseshow moms” do everything from work the horses, to clean the horses, to feed the horses, to shop for the horses, to find trainers for the horses, to sell horses, to getting their son or daughter read for a class, so that their children may focus on showing, friendships and mainly homework. Some “horseshow moms” even show horses themselves, and this is the case for Pam.

Pam has been around horses all her life. Although she spent most of her adolescent life in the Memorial area of Houston, Texas, she was heavily involved in quarter horse showing as an adolescent and young adult and did quite well. This all ended when she was forced to quit, deciding to attend the University of Arkansas against her parents' request for her to find a closer school. In seeking vindication for her college selection, they sold her horses.

However, horse showing never truly dies within a person. It is easy to take the horse showing away from a person, but you can never take the desire to show out of a person. It seems almost innate. “People live and breathe for horseshows - it is insane stuff,” Amy says.

Pam resumed her passion for showing horses after exiting college and has now passed her love for showing horses onto her daughter. Amy has been going to horseshows her whole life. In fact, she learned the alphabet and how to count on the center console of a suburban driving with her mother to watch a horse show.

“My mom and I are super close,” Amy said. The sharing of special moments in a car and the passing of a life passion from mother to daughter are why Pam and Amy are so close. Most parents do not get to spend alone time with their children finding out who they are and what their interested in, and can only hope that their children are involved in extracurricular activities that are safe and beneficial to themselves let alone the particular activity they themselves participated in as a child.

However, even then, Pam knows the dangers and problems with allowing her child to participate in horse showing, the same sport that she dearly loves. “Horse showing teaches the wrong values,” Pam says. “Judging is very subjective.” Horse showing is not a sport for the lighthearted. Politics plays a large part in the reward aspect of showing horses. “Alliances are made between trainers and judges and the best person is not always rewarded.” “It is very frustrating being a parent and seeing your daughter lose when she deserves to win, but horse showing does teach children real world values.”

Arriving at the arena Amy heads toward the show office. She is anxious to see what order in the group she will be showing. She is number 4 of 30. “I got a terrible number. The judges are going to forget me,” she said. She then heads to the stalls to start applying her makeup. “I have had this makeup kit since I started showing,” Amy said.

Amy has been showing horses since she was eight years old. In fact most of her best memories and achievements have come through showing horses. Last year she was top 10 at the world show and she was president of the American Junior Paint Horse Association. Most of her best and truest friends come from the horse show culture. To Amy “horse showing is an escape from normal everyday life.”

“I was more popular in the horse show world than in high school. I just seemed to fit in better.” She deemed it such a better fit than high school that she was gone every weekend, unless a crucial high school event was happening. Thus, directly after her senior prom, she drove to a horse show, and she almost did not graduate high school because of excessive absences. However, Amy's parents did not want her to grow up missing the experience of high school completely. They did not want her to become a total “horse show brat.” Children who thrive in the horse show environment but are miserable in school and completely reliant on their parents. “My parents made me go to all the major high school events so that I could experience high school life.” However, they did support her love of horses and the horse showing culture. They understand, despite any concerns they may have, the importance of horse showing to her and the many joys it has brought to her life.

Amy's parents realize that showing horses has helped her in many ways. Amy was born with Juvenile Rheumatory Arthritis, a disease that attacks the cartilage in a person's joints. Doctors told them that Amy might never walk and that they may even have to amputate her leg. Amy actually overcame this disease, but could not play high impact sports that would tear down her joints. Doctors told Amy not to ride horses, but she did anyway and became very successful at it, providing her with physical and athletic exercise as well as achievement. Secondly, “Amy has really gotten good friends from showing horses,” Pam said.

When Bob arrives at the arena Dundee is fully tacked and Amy is ready to go. Her makeup, spurs and hat on and waiting to mount her seventeen hand horse. Meanwhile, Pam is arguing with their trainer about whether or not she had ridden the horse this morning for warm-up. Bob, with his coffee in hand and careful not to spill it on his Tommy Bahama shirt, takes a seat in the grooming area and listens to the commotion of Amy and Pam preparing for her horsemanship class.

Bob finds different retreat in the horse shows than the women. He finds the friendships and financial aspects of showing horses entertaining and relaxing; however, he does not enjoy viewing the sport. “Horse showing is not a spectator sport, but the girls love it. I just try and keep myself busy with the trade show and other things around the grounds. But this is their deal.”

He is a major player in the business dealings within the paint horse industry, and even owns a small paint horse breeding company, Color Limited Inc. He even continuously buys and sells horses he at various shows throughout the country. However, the horse show industry does not just revolve around the buying and selling of horses. It is a business that costs tens of thousands of dollars to enter and cost more tens of thousands of dollars to exit. In the business of showing horses almost everything will lose value or cost more money in up keep. “I have seen many families go bankrupt trying to make it in horse showing. A horse will be the cheapest thing you can buy because it is a fixed expenditure, and a world-class show horse will cost somewhere between $50,000 and $75,000. That does not even include training and tack.”

His love for his Daughter has no bounds. He paid above the given estimate for Amy's current horse, Dundee, despite the fact that Dundee may not be worth that amount or that talented. “Well, the horse may not be worth that amount,” he said, “but Amy is.” At the same time, he has high expectations for his daughter in the show arena, and when things do not get judged in favor of Amy it “is just another example of how this deal rips you off.”

Nonetheless, Amy and her dad have a loving relationship. Though at times things can become tense, love is a common theme running throughout their communication. In her later adolescence, pushing her to succeed was no longer necessary because he ingrained a winning attitude in her as a child. An attitude that taught through hard work and dedication one can achieve any dream. Amy's dream was to win a top 10 at the World Championship Horse Show, and in 2002 she accomplished that goal.

Amy sits on her horse ready to ride in the service corridors leading to the arena. Before her parents leave her for their seats, Amy leans down and they kisses each of her parents for good luck. Then Amy focuses on her competition, and Bob and Pam resign to their front row seats in the arena.

Horse showing bonds the Hornberger's. Their home in Fort Smith, Arkansas is decorated in an eclectic southwestern motif that even includes saddles, sculptures of horses and all their various awards from showing horses. Horses hold their family together and describe many of their interactions with one another historically and in the present. Even though Bob is not an enthusiast of horse shows, he is an enthusiast of his wife and his daughter, and what makes this family special and work so wonderfully is their dedication to do this activity together. This aspect of family life and togetherness is where so many other families involved in this culture fail.

“There are not many normal families in horse showing,” Pam says. This is because many times one or both parents must work or they choose not to go with their child to the horse show, and so they “ship their child off with the trainer.” Many children are away from their parents most of the year, especially on weekends and during the summer, or if one parent goes with the child then marriages can become very strained because they may not be home for months. “Bob and I made a commitment to have a normal family while allowing her to participate in horse showing.”

Horse showing has provided Amy with a lifetime filled with achievement that has demanded sacrifice both on her part and from her parents. There have been times where both of her parents could not make it to horse shows, jobs are not that flexible. There have been times where Pam and Bob have been separated for nearly a month at a time, while Amy and her mom travel around to different horse shows. Personally, Amy had to miss a great amount of high school, and strained all of her intimate relationships during those years.

But looking back, none of them would trade any of their sacrifices for the great moments that they have shared together. They are a better family because of their sacrifices. Every sacrifice brought them closer together. Many families would have been torn apart by the constant sacrificing of their values and desires, but the Hornbergers do not see having sacrificed anything. They have just lived as they wanted.

Exiting the show arena Amy is crying. She deserved to win this class. Her ride was spectacular. Two of the judges placed her sixth and three did not place her at all. Unfortunately, today she did not receive any overall placements. “Dundee was a good boy. He did not switch leads, he spun on one hoof and he even backed up straight,” she said. “It is alright. You know this happens when you show horses,” Pam says. “This is why I did not want to go 4^th in the order. The judges always forget you,” Amy said.

Arriving back at the stalls things have calmed down. Amy is no longer crying and Pam sets off to untacking Dundee. “Amy can you help me take his saddle off?” Pam asks. Meanwhile, Bob reclaims his seat in the grooming area.

After Dundee is untacked, he is bathed and then placed back in his stall. The Hornberger family then regroups around Bob's position to decide their next relaxing and yet entertaining move. “Is it time for the trade show?” Bob asks. Amy and Pam reply, “Yes!” and the Hornbergers are gone.

I have spent a fair amount of time immersed in the horse show culture with the Hornbergers. Not only that, I have a close connection to Amy Hornberger, she is my girlfriend, thus, I would never want to miss represent her or her family. So I struggled with how each person should be represented and how that ties together with the whole group. I was difficult because each of them has a very distinct voice, and yet, you will never find a more loving family.

The most difficult aspect of writing the paper otherwise was deciding how much of the horse show industry and terminology the readers needed to know to understand how that same industry and culture can impact a family. Originally, I thought that I was going to have to go in depth into the industry, but then I realized the more I stayed away from that the more I could focus on the family and that is what the paper is about.

Though the industry is corrupt, the story is in the family. I needed to realize what I had in my research and stay with that and not my gut instinct going into this project.