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Bauwens realized she was lost an hour
into her ride.
“I remembered someone saying if
you ever get lost, your horse will find
his way back,” she shares. “I put my
hand down and let him go where he
wanted. He went around a corner and
into a weird ditch and found the trail!
That was such an exciting feeling. It
reminded me of the rush I used to get
when I showed.”
Socially Savvy
A painter by trade, Bauwens origi-
nally started using Instagram to help
showcase her work. But it was after she
started posting photos of her having fun
on the back of a horse that she started to
get a following.
“I never really expected anything to
happen when I started posting photos
and videos on Instagram—it was really
just a way for me to keep up with friends
and share some of the exciting things I
was up to with them,” she says. “It just
started to grow organically. One girl got
in touch with me after seeing my photos
and asked if I wanted to do a photo
shoot, and I did it. Then I kept connect-
ing with like-minded people, and it just
spiraled from there.”
Posting on Instagram is how Bauwens
has connected with some of her closest
friends, including Tina Bork.
“Alex was helping a friend sell her
Gypsy Vanner on Instagram, and I was
looking to buy one,” Bork explains. “By
the time I messaged her, the horse hadalready sold. But we got to talking and
she mentioned that she would keep an
eye out for one that’s for sale. We found
out that we’re both located in Scottsdale
and decided to get together. I thought we
were going to meet for coffee for maybe
20 minutes, but I ended up at her barn
for two and a half hours. We’ve been
friends ever since.”
Since that day, the two have gone on
to do just about anything they possibly
can do on the back of a horse, including
teaching new tricks, weekly “games” of
horse soccer, and even saddling up over-
seas and riding with a former Olympic
rider during a recent trip to Japan. They
always make sure to document their
adventures on social media to let fellow
riders know what they’re up to.