Cheers to a good time…

I am not conceited enough to believe my life is so enthralling that it deserves to be written about. However, seeing as I live in the “social media influencer” era, I feel as if I have a moral obligation to my Gen Z status to document my life online. Many will not find it very interesting, but hopefully I can look back on this when I am old, decrepit, and unaware of my own name and be reminded of what I was like as a stupid kid.

Without further ado, hello! Seeing as this is the first post I figured I would introduce myself fully. My name is Haley Rutstein, I am the second daughter of a relatively normal and boring American family. I grew up in your typical middle-class family, we weren’t rich enough that I got everything I wanted, but I also never struggled for necessities either (goodness, that sounds so stuck up, but for the sake of honesty and perspective). I was raised in southern New Hampshire, and I have lived, primarily, in the same house since I was born. I am very close with my family and I could not imagine my life without them.

I love to read. Fantasy/romance is my favorite, and I will not apologize for it. I am deeply obsessed with anything SJM (minus Catwoman, I refuse to acknowledge that one, sorry!), Victoria Aveyard, Tahereh Mafi, Suzanne Collins, Cassandra Clare, Marissa Meyer, James Patterson, Jobie Hughes, James Frey, and many more.

I recently (summer of 2023) took up running. I love and hate it at the same time. Basically, I hate it before a run, but I love it after a run.

I am a person that is convinced she can do anything based off watching just two YouTube videos. It often results in a bit of a headache, but nine times out of ten I get the job done. I am stubbornly independent and despise being told what to do. I am not a good people person, oftentimes I wish others would just leave me alone to do my work and such.

I am a dog person who currently has a cat from hell. Her name is Winona, though she is better known as Helga. I am convinced she is an evil familiar.

Moving on from the personal…

I am the proud owner of two spectacular horses.

In 2021 I bought my first horse. A 2018 APHA gelding by the name of FlirtinWithMyBluEyes, aka Myles. He is the funniest, weirdest, most entertaining animal I have ever met. He has an obsession with rearranging cones, which is especially interesting when we are doing pattern work.

My second horse is a 2021 AQHA mare  named Platinum Mechanic, aka Josephine. She is one of the sweetest horses you’ll ever meet, though a bit timid. Jo wants to be in your pocket, and terrified of disappointing her rider/trainer. Right now, we are mostly steering her towards the HUS all-around, but a small part of me holds out that she will be a true all-arounder.

I have been riding since I was 10 (?) years old. I started at a dressage barn but quickly moved to an all-breed barn, where I stayed until I was 18. I rode literally everything I was allowed to growing up- ponies, Arabians, Morgans, Saddlebreds, Hackneys, walking breeds, Thoroughbreds, Warmbloods, draft horses. You name it, I’ve probably ridden it. It made me a very versatile rider, and resulted in me being confident I can ride pretty much anything given some direction. As a kid I showed every summer, from the 4H circuit to the Pinto World Championships.

When I was 18 years old, I bought Myles from the owner of that all-breed barn and moved him to an APHA/AQHA focused training barn. I showed Myles, and now show Jo, under the direction of KrisKel Performance Horses out of Kingston, NH. I showed Myles on the New England PtHA and APHA circuits and will be showing Jo on the AQHA circuits this coming year.

Moving on from horses…

I graduated high school in 2021, becoming a proud alum of Salem High School. The fall of 2021 I began my first year at the University of Kentucky. At the time, I was a Pre-Veterinary Animal Science major with her heart set on veterinary school upon completion of my bachelor’s degree. However, I quickly realized that I had perhaps convinced myself I wanted to be a veterinarian because that is what people interested in animals are supposed to do. Long story short (I promise I will write out the long story, but it really does deserve its own post), I quickly switched from a Pre-Veterinary track to a Pre-Professional track, and began planning instead for graduate school. I finished my undergraduate studies in 3 years, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout (sorry, I have to brag a little bit).

Unfortunately, a bachelor’s alone does not satisfy me, so this fall I will begin studying at the University of Connecticut, pursuing a Master of Science in Animal Science with a concentration in Animal Physiology. I am so unbelievably excited for this opportunity, and I am beyond grateful to be able to study under some amazing scholars. I cannot wait to begin!

Wow that was kind of long!

Hopefully this gives you a small glimpse of who I am. I hope to share more with you all as I go, through posts of moments in life that cause me to stop and ponder the “deeper meaning”. Cheers to the beginning of a hopefully positive and captivating blog!