We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sally Spickard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sally, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

In 2013, I was living in my hometown of St. Louis, MO, working a corporate desk job for Enterprise Fleet Management. I didn’t mind my job; I had grown up assuming I’d follow the corporate ladder-climbing path most of my peers chose, and Enterprise seemed like as good a place as any to do this.

I had followed the equestrian sport of three-day eventing for many years — I remember catching “the bug” when visiting the historic Kentucky Three-Day Event for the first time about 10 years prior to that year, and had always loved keeping up with the horse sports that were on TV, such as racing. So when a website called Eventing Nation launched in 2010, I eagerly consumed every word they published. Here was my chance to learn all the riders and horses who competed at the top levels.

Eventing Nation hosted an annual Blogger Contest, which I had entered in 2012 and 2013. In 2012, my entry didn’t make it past the first round. In 2013, I was notified that I would move on to the first round of semi-finalists. Then I was moved to the final round. While I didn’t win the overall contest, I was still invited to contribute stories regularly at the swell rate of $15 per post. I jumped at the chance to exercise my creativity and love of the sport.

A few months later, an invitation was extended to travel to Texas for the American Eventing Championships, which would wind up being the first of many trips taken to cover events around the world (little did I know then).

At the end of 2013, my partner at the time expressed a desire to move back to his hometown of Kansas City, MO. I weighed my options: I could easily put in for an internal transfer with Enterprise, or I could put my eggs into this blogging basket and see what happened.

I chose door number two.

It wasn’t the soundest decision — I was giving up a career that had potential to grow, that provided me with reliable income and benefits to pursue something that was far from guaranteed and certainly not traditionally stable. I told myself I would give it six months, and if I wasn’t able to make it into something I could live on, I would go back to “the real world”.

A decade later, I now find myself in ownership of Eventing Nation and with a full network built within the equestrian sports industry. I have traveled to one Olympic Games (Tokyo) and am preparing for my second in Paris this summer. I have served as the Press Officer for multiple FEI (the international equestrian governing body) events here in the U.S., and I have worked on multiple creative projects with riders I idolized when I first discovered the sport.

A few years ago, I was digging around in my parents’ attic and stumbled upon some old journals from my pre-teen years. Inside, I had covered pages with “news reports” about horse races and the sporting figures I followed in baseball and football. I know that pre-teen me had no inkling that what she was writing could be turned into a full-fledged career — truthfully, even “adult” me questions it more often than I’d like to admit (is this really…real?), but I think this story is just another example that putting your passion, creativity, and determination into something can pay off in the most unexpected but fulfilling ways.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I always waffle on what to call myself when people ask what I do. Usually, my answer is some form of “I work in horse sports” or “I’m an equestrian journalist”.

Generally speaking, I am in the business of sports media, finding a home within the niche of equestrian sports (and the even smaller niche of the specific sport of three-day eventing, which is an Olympic equestrian sport). Through my work with Eventing Nation as well as multiple other platforms within the space, I tell the stories of competition, of the horses and riders who make it to the top, and I build and maintain relationships with sport stakeholders. I have also worked as a content producer, using my creative skills to branch into videography as another form of storytelling.

I am the most proud of the relationships I have built with the athletes and other sport stakeholders, including other members of the media. Relationships and networks have gotten me every opportunity I have so far, making it by far the most valuable asset in my repertoire in addition to my creative instincts.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have always been drawn to stories, especially about those I can relate to. Within equestrian sports, there is a severe need for greater representation of people from diverse backgrounds. I can still remember the first Asian eventer who I watched compete at the Olympics (Nina Ligon from Thailand, London 2012). While I have always gravitated toward the stories of people who look like me or other racial minorities, I also very much recognize that I could always be doing more to elevate the stories that lead to an increase in representation and equitable access. I love the concept of visual storytelling, having started mostly as a writer but more recently branching out into video production. I look forward to using these “upskills” to continue telling the stories that light a fire under my creative spirit.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I have learned a lot of difficult lessons in my career, primarily brought about by poor or uninformed decision-making. In the past, I have done a lot of self-sabotage, putting my own selfish goals in front of acting with honesty and integrity. My actions eventually led to me being penniless, nearly homeless and without a vehicle, needing to sell the horse that meant the world to me and so that I could pay debts I had incurred by trying to “make it” as a rider – whatever that means. It damaged my reputation and my relationship with people I respected, and it made me lose respect for myself as a human. I used this “bottom” to build myself back, little by little. I do my best to lead my business with as much honesty and integrity as I wish I had possessed not that many years ago, and while this is an ongoing practice, I very much feel that identifying and staying true to these very important values has helped me forgive myself for past transgressions and become a person and a businesswoman I can be proud of.

Contact Info:

• Website: Business: www.eventingnation.com
• Instagram: @sallyspickard
• Facebook: @sallyspickard
• Linkedin: @sallyspickard

Image Credits
Photo of Boyd at GPE is by Sally Spickard Sally and Bettina – Michelle Dunn Sally and Peter Wylde – Mary Patricia Stone All others – no credit needed