Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Madelyn Houser. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Madelyn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
In 2015, I founded my Instagram platform, The Blonde & The Bay, out of sheer desire to create a separate space online where I could freely share photographs of my horse without bombarding my non-equestrian friends. My online journey steadily began to blossom as I candidly shared my adventures as a dressage rider. From writing about the achievements earned between my partnership with my heart-horse, Leah, to documenting the heartbreaking lows we encounter in this specific world, to highlighting my daily life with the horses, The Blonde & The Bay completely transformed into a vibrant community of equestrians from around the world. Cultivating such a unique, incredible network for the prior ten years has been a true passion project and a meaningful outlet that has brought opportunities/friendships/connections into my life that I never dreamt possible. Through such connections and friendships, I’ve welcomed the honor of utilizing The Blonde & The Bay in newfound ways beyond the screen – positively impacting the equestrian community by advocating for “untraditional horse breeds” in the dressage space and hosting educational events such as the “Blue Duck Memorial Dressage Clinic.” Community outreach is truly at the center of my social media goals. To me, that’s what The Blonde & The Bay really is: a community.
Madelyn, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a lifelong equestrian, and my love for dressage (horse ballet, essentially) blossomed in 2004. Since my early days as an official horse girl, I became a United States Dressage Federation Bronze and Silver Medalist, and successfully competed through the FEI (international) Small Tour Levels until retiring my heart-horse in 2019. In 2021, I embarked on a newfound path for your typical dressage rider and found new inspiration/new joy through the training of Quarter Horses for the centerline. As I mentioned, The Blonde & The Bay was founded on the principle of documenting each high and each low with my horses. And basically, you could joke that I was an “influencer” before influencers even became a thing – especially within the equestrian space! The beautiful thing about my brand is that she’s shifted and transformed with every chapter of my life. Towards the end of 2023, I began to dabble in more editorial-style content focusing on equestrian fashion as a second interest to riding. Within a handful of months, my business side of TB&TB quickly surged as equestrian apparel companies took notice. Building the creator-business side of my platform has been definitely a learning curve; 10-years in the making really without formal education. However, nowadays, I’ve established myself as the equestrian influencer/creator who consistently produces highest quality photography/videography that tells a story through our unique lens. From equestrian influencer marketing, to User Generated Content and modeling services, I’d like to believe I am a multifaceted creator who can bring any brand’s vision to life – no idea too big or too small. The biggest aspect that sets me apart from others? My community. The connection and the trust I’ve tenderly established since 2015. My community is engaged, and actively participate in heartfelt conversations that nurture a welcoming space. When a brand works with me, they’re placing their product into the creative hands of someone who truly understands their audience. Numbers/analytics are important and absolutely have a place in deciding whether or not a brand is going to partner with an influencer, but to me, the aspect of community is everything.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Connecting with the people in the equestrian world from all journeys of their horse-life: hands down. The Blonde & The Bay has enriched my life in a multitude of ways but the most notable would be the friendships. Several of my closest girl-friends happened because of Instagram – which is wild to wrap my mind around yet I cannot imagine my world without them! Remarkable blessings can happen when you focus on building that line of authentic communication between you and your audience, first and foremost. When a friend messages me or drops a comment stating how my insights/writings resonate with their own experiences, I’m reminded of the profound value in my vulnerability. While actually creating/posting the art is something I genuinely adore, it’s the closeness and open dialogue between me and my TB&TB community that brings me the most joy.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
“How do I build my audience on social media?” is often a routinely asked question. And, if you’re indeed asking me, I’m always going to recite the same answer: find your mission, find your “why,” and the rest will come. Going viral and establishing a genuine platform of engaged individuals are two very different aspects to social media. In fact, going viral is *actually* my worst nightmare because while the engagement is fun, the people that specific piece of content see are usually not my target audience. Growing your audience on any social media platform is typically not an overnight success story… As someone who has been in the creator space for ten years, I still struggle with comparison – like, I should have “more” (more engagement, more followers, more this, more that) for the amount of time I’ve dedicated to The Blonde & The Bay. Those moments of self-doubt do happen, and when the notion creeps into my mind, I revert back to community/connection over numbers. I, personally, would much rather add value into the equestrian community versus quick, attention-grabby content. You don’t need the fanciest camera equipment, you don’t need to fit into a certain “aesthetic,” you don’t only need to capture the picture-perfect moments. Share your journey to the extent in which you’re comfortable, spend time responding to comments or messages – complete sentences, not just emojis or “hearting” the text – and your audience will begin to take shape. Meaningful, good things take time and effort.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theblondeandthebay.com
- Instagram: @theblondeandthebay_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theblondeandthebay
Image Credits
All photographs taken by Barrett Houser