MUCK MEMORIES WITH: CAITLIN GOOCH

Each season brings new goals and plans, and 2024 has held true – becoming a year filled with dirt, dreams, and a whole lot of heart full of mucky memories for the years to come.

SPRING

This year I had plans of doing a garden in the backyard with my four daughters, a few close cousins, and friends. We had been talking about how we need to get back to our roots and self-sustainability. I bought so many seeds and even made a layout of a garden space. A few days leading up to spring, myself, my kids, my friend and her kids got together in the garden to clear it out. We moved fences, pulled weeds, and had it really nice. We worked together to prepare a garden space. However, we did not end up planting anything! Not a single seed. I’m actually not sure why we didn’t but we did enjoy the time spent together. We laughed so much and made-up songs about the goats who were looking for greenery to eat in the garden covered in dead leaves. At least we had our fun being together.

SUMMER

Summertime is for summer camp with horses! This was my 7th year hosting summer camp on our horse farm. We had 15 kids the first week. I could not have done it without my muck boots! It rained one week and was hot the next. The kids were tasked with mucking stalls, bathing horses, washing water buckets, and other messy chores on a farm. My feet were well protected from all the wet! One of my favorite memories this summer was walking down the dirt road towards the barn when one of the 6-year-old campers began to walk closer to me. She looked up at me and said, “I want to be a farmer just like you when I grow up!”

FALL

Horses teach us life lessons! Horses help us foster a sense of community! Horses save lives! Recently a few cowboys teamed up with me to have an evening on the farm with 4 aspiring young cowboys. We thought it would be a good idea to open the farm up to these boys so they can begin to create their own community or village with each other. One of the boys, age 14, had never been on a horse. No horse experience at all. He had been borrowing a pair of my boots to muck stalls. On this day when he went to the truck to grab the borrowed boots I called out to him, “That box has YOUR boots in it!” He enthusiastically replied, “These are mine Ms. Caitlin? Thank you!” Then he went on to get a lesson from one of the cowboys. It is one thing to have the opportunity to be around horses. It is a different feeling to know you belong and are wanted to have around. A memorable experience to start a new adventure.

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WINTER

I wear my muck boots no matter the occasion if I can. My younger sister invited me to her pinning ceremony as she became a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). I did not know if there was a dress code. I also did not ask. The day of the event I had a lot of errands to run. As I was getting my errands done, it began to rain really hard. My sister texted me to let me know the ceremony was delayed 1 hour. This saved me from missing it completely. When I walked in, I saw my mom. I sat beside her. She was glowing. A few minutes later, my dad walked in. The first thing he said to me, “Girl, you got your muck boots on?!” I laughed!

ABOUT CAITLIN

Caitlin Gooch, known as “The Black Cowgirl,” has had a lifelong passion for horses. She grew up surrounded by equestrians and now aims to inspire others through her nonprofit, Saddle Up and Read, which promotes literacy among children. Find her on Instagram @THEBLACKCOWGIRL.