Check Out Sarah V. Barnes’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah V. Barnes

Hi Sarah V., please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Here’s the whimsical version:
Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved stories. She especially loved stories that happened a long time ago, in a land far, far away. At first, others had to tell her the stories, but then, like magic, she learned to read them for herself out of books. And then, even more magical, she discovered that there were stories inside her that she could write down using her own words.

But just as she made this discovery, the girl came under a spell that made her believe that the only way that she could tell stories about long ago and far away was to become something called an historian. And so that is what she did. What she was not told, but had to learn for herself, was that becoming an historian meant relying more and more on facts and evidence and less and less on her own imagination, and soon the girl forgot all about the stories that had once been inside of her, waiting to be told. The girl – now a grown-up professor with a Ph.D. – wrote lots and lots of words but with less and less joy, for the stories were lost. Then one day, a special creature appeared, beckoning to the girl to leave her life in the ivory tower where she had become imprisoned. The creature came in the shape of a horse, for the girl had loved horses all of her life but never had one of her own. Realizing she wanted to be with the horse far more than she wanted to keep on being an historian, the girl fled her old life and went to live with the horse in a barn. There, little by little, the horse helped the girl to remember the stories long buried in her heart until one day, she began to write them down. And the rest is history.

Here’s the more mundane version:
I grew up in the Midwest as a horse-crazy girl with a passion for stories, especially historical fiction. After attending college on the East Coast, I returned to the Midwest for graduate school, earning a Ph.D. in history. By this time I was married, with two daughters. We moved around a lot for my husband’s career and I taught history on the college level wherever we happened to be living. Eventually we landed in Boulder and my girls were old enough by then to be interested in horses. We soon had a pony for them, and a horse for me (although my husband is violently allergic). We began competing in eventing and soon I was giving riding lessons, while continuing to teach history. Before too long, however, I decided I’d rather spend my time at the barn than the classroom — I knew I was doing more to make the world a better place by teaching riding than by teaching undergraduates — and I left academia.

Fast forward a few years: following what seemed like a minor slip in the barn aisle, my latest competition prospect, a five-year-old mare named Okotillo, became unrideable. Despairing but determined not to give-up on her, I set-out on a journey that led me away from competitive riding toward a focus on relationship and authentic connection with horses. I renamed my teaching business Anam Cara Equestrian — Anam Cara means ‘soul friend’ in Gaelic — and devoted myself to discovering how to be a better human for the sake of my horse. That journey continues to this day.

A big influence along the way has been the work of Linda Kohonav, author of The Tao of Equus. I’ve attended several workshops at Linda’s Arizona ranch over the years, all featuring the equine-facilitated personal growth experiences she pioneered in the wake of publishing her international best-selling memoir. Although each workshop has a different theme, all of them incorporate activities designed to expand self-knowledge, develop social and emotional intelligence, and hone leadership skills. Linda is a gifted facilitator, but the real teachers are the horses. I’m now one of Linda’s certified Eponaquest Instructors.

Early in my journey, I attended one of Linda’s workshops focused on writing. I didn’t intend to start writing a novel, but after spending a couple of days being encouraged to tap into hidden sources of intuition and creativity, an idea came to me — almost like a download from another realm. By morning on the last day of the workshop, I had written the first chapter of what became my first novel, She Who Rides Horses (Book One): A Tale of the Ancient Steppe. Set around 4,000 BCE in the steppes of what is now southern Russia and Ukraine, it’s the beginning of a trilogy, telling the story of the first person to ride a horse. The first book won several prestigious awards and the second in the series, She Who Rides Horses (Book Two): A Clan Chief’s Daughter, will be coming out soon. In a way I never could have foreseen, I’ve managed to braid together my two passions, horses and storytelling. Not bad for someone who took up novel writing after the age of sixty!

Although I still work occasionally as a riding instructor, teaching riding as a meditative art, my main endeavor now is finishing the trilogy. Horses have been with us for millennia and still have so much to teach us — my aim is to uncover how our relationship with them began so that we can better appreciate what we need to learn from them today about being in connection with nature and one another.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Looking back, I can see a clear path stretching out behind me, but in the midst of the journey, the way forward was anything but clear. Struggle number one was how to be with horses — I’ve always loved them, but for many years there was no way to share my life with them. Moving to Colorado opened the way. Struggle number two was how to prioritize family life (my husband and children) while still maintaining a semblance of a career. While I enjoyed being an academic for a time, moving so much meant making professional sacrifices. Again, moving to Colorado and bringing horses back into my life meant that I could find a different way to express my passion for teaching — as a riding instructor. Struggle number three involved a lot of disappointment around what I thought were my competitive goals with horses. At one point, when my mare was injured, I had to just give in and follow the way in which she was pointing me — toward authentic relationship and connection. I’ve grown into a different and better person as a result. All those experiences together have allowed me to circle back to my original passion for stories and storytelling, with horses at the center of the tale.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m the author of the She Who Rides Horses trilogy.

She Who Rides Horses (Book One): A Saga of the Ancient Steppe came out in 2022 and won the Best Indie Book Award for historical fiction that year, along with several other awards, and received numerous positive critical reviews.

While grateful for the awards and reviews, I’m most proud of the young lady who contacted me after a book signing, saying she’d started reading as soon as she returned home and hadn’t been able to put down the book and that I’d inspired her to want to be a writer. I’m quite humbled by her enthusiasm.

I’d also like folks my age to know that it’s never too late to do something creative that you might have secretly dreamed of when you were young. Sometimes it’s not until we reach this stage that we have the space to revisit those old dreams. Follow the inspiration — it won’t lead you astray.

What matters most to you?
Relationship — whether with horses, people, nature — in the end, it’s what matters, what lasts, what has authentic value.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sarahvbarnes.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shewhorideshorses/