Some designs start with a sketchpad. This one started with a horse who doesn't know the difference between a cross-pole and a five-foot wall.
Meet Ace. He's a Dutch x Belgian Warmblood, eight years old, born at the tail end of April — and he is the grey horse flying through the air on our "Jumping Is My Thing" tee. I bred him from my own mare, which means I've known him since before he was born. He is also, without question, the most enthusiastic jumper I have ever sat on.
Here's the thing about Ace: he absolutely hates to touch a pole. At the start of a session, when he's fresh and feeling himself, my trainer and I can set up the smallest cross-pole to warm up — the kind of thing you'd put in front of a confident beginner — and he'll launch himself over it like he's auditioning for something. Full effort, ears pricked, hind legs tucked right up. He likes to show off a little. Once he settles in and gets going, he's much more sensible about it — but that first fence of the day keeps us on our toes. My trainer and I have learned to just laugh. You hold on and enjoy the ride.
We started his training properly when he was six, which is right on schedule for a warmblood. He has a big future in show jumping, and I cannot wait to take him into the ring. But that story is still being written.
Where the Design Came From
The "Jumping Is My Thing" design started with a photograph — a real action shot of Ace clearing a fence. That image was my reference point, my starting place. From there, I described what I wanted: the shape of the jump, the energy in his body, that suspended moment when all four feet are off the ground and everything feels possible.
I should be upfront about something: I can't draw. I mean that genuinely — I am not gifted with a pencil or a paintbrush. What I can do is see things in my mind with absolute clarity, and describe them in words with enough detail that something beautiful can come out the other side.
I use AI as my creative tool, and I love it. Not as a shortcut — as a collaboration. I give it the image in my head, painted in words, and it gives me back something I could never have made with my own hands. It takes my words and paints the picture. For someone who has always had a creative eye but no technical ability to match it, that's nothing short of a gift. It makes the art that lives in my imagination real.
The Story Behind the Rider
I have wanted to jump since I was ten years old. I watched horses jump on television and just knew — that's what I want to do. I had a pony. No saddle for a while, so I jumped bareback. That's probably not the textbook training method, but it got the job done.
Life has a way of getting between you and the things you dream about when you're ten. Money was tight growing up, and proper lessons weren't really possible. But the urge never went away. It just waited.
Now I have regular lessons. I have Ace — this big-hearted, occasionally show-offy horse who treats that first fence of the day like it personally deserves his absolute best effort. And I am, finally, getting there. I sometimes catch myself thinking I'm too old to be doing this. Then Ace launches himself over a cross-pole like it's a Grand Prix fence, and I remember: this is exactly where I'm supposed to be.
Who This Tee Is Really For
"Jumping Is My Thing" isn't just a t-shirt. It's a personal statement. It's for every rider who grew up watching horses jump on TV and thought, one day. It's for everyone who came to it late, or came back to it after a long time away. It's for the people who get on anyway — whatever their age, whatever their level — because the urge to jump is simply part of who they are.
If that sounds like you, this tee was made for you. Available in adult and youth sizes at Hay There Horse Art.
