Ruby Rose Cowgirl Clothes March Cowgirl of The Month, Michelle Van Amburg
By Kim Cervenak
One of the things I love most about my job is that I get to meet some amazing people. Shortly after I opened Ruby Rose Cowgirl Clothes I started honoring the cowgirls who came into my shop by choosing a “Cowgirl of the Month”. I don’t have specific criteria when I pick someone. It comes from my gut. And for the month of March, I have chosen Michelle Van Amburg.
Michelle is one of the first cowgirls who shopped Ruby Rose back in 2008. We just hit it off. When Michelle would come in, I would love to ask her about her riding, what she was working on, how her training was going, and what she was up to next. Through her, I’ve met her warm and wonderful mother Helen, her handsome and supportive husband Troy, her loyal and lively friend Kelly, her trainer Paul Barnes, and now I have had the pleasure of meeting one of her horses Mates Mr. Mama.
One of the things I ask of our Cowgirl of the Month is to be one of our Ruby Rose models. Michelle kindly obliged so I met up with her at Paul Barnes Training Stables for our photo shoot and afterward Michelle was kind enough to answer some questions I had for her. And here is how it went:
Kim: Michelle, how long have you been riding horses and do you have a ranching background?
Michelle: I was riding before I was born!! I am part of a family ranch in Washington state called the Gleason Ranch which was homesteaded by my family who came over from Ireland in 1852. I am now the General Manager of this ranch; my cousins run the ranch—one runs our beef business, one cousin runs the timber business, another family handles the Christmas Tree ranch and my other cousin does the accounting. The ranch encompasses over 3000 acres. I spent my summers on the main ranch where we put up hay, branded cows, fixed fences, fished and had a great time.
K: You’ve been riding since you were a little girl. When you ride your horse, how does it make you feel? Inside—what does it do to you?
M: It’s euphoric. It’s something that feeds my soul, it makes me cry.
K: What makes you want to ride?
M: I have a stressful job and I’ve had a very stressful life, raising my children by myself, so for me riding was always something to do to get away from technology and to be outdoors. When you’re on your horse, you can look around and enjoy the scenery. When you’re walking, you have to look down at your feet to watch where you’re going. When I’m up on my horse, I get to look around.
K: Do you find that what you learn from riding horses you can then incorporate into your stressful job because you travel the nation and meet with some pretty high profile clients?
M: No, riding just gives me a break from that. Riding is something to look forward to. When I am sitting on the plane getting ready to meet the CIO of Duke Medicine at the University of Duke to sell them a $10M deal, all I look forward to is “This is going to fund my horse”! (a laugh and giggle from both of us) Also, that you make progress with everything that you do and you try to get better.
K: And you are starting to compete and show, correct?
M: During my life, I’ve done everything. I’ve shown Arabians and Morgans. I’ve done 4H in Washington State, Gymkhana and all that. I’ve done Versatility Ranch, Sorting, and now I’ve gotten into Cutting. So, my new venue is Cutting. I showed a little bit last year so this year will be my first really solid year with my horse Mr. Mate’s Mama, a 5 year old Smart Mate gelding. He was trained by Tom Long and Paul (Barnes) has worked on him as well. He’s just a really super smooth nice horse. He’s real willing. He’s not a nervous horse at all. I can be “whatever” up there and he’s still gonna do the job.
K: What’s your favorite event? Cutting?
M: Sorting is fun but the reason I love Cutting is because it is so technical. With Sorting you can use two hands to yank your horse around but with Cutting your hands down and you really have to be in the right spot. Your horse has to be correct on the cow. It’s harder but more thrilling than any other event. It’s all from here (the waist) down. It’s interesting to learn to ride that way because even if you are never going into the show pen, it makes you a better rider.
K: You’ve trained your own horse?
M: I’ve trained a couple. While I was growing up, Ray Hunt was a friend of the family, and so I learned to train horses from Ray. He came to our ranch and helped us learn how to train colts and use them for cow work. I’ve broke and trained most of my own horses. My mare that I show for Versatility Ranch, I did all the training on her. Paul helped me a little bit but Ray Hunt gave me that horse so she’s a pretty special horse. It’s thrilling to get a horse from a trainer like Ray, train her, and go off and do well. That’s been really a fun project.
K: At Ruby Rose, we use the motto “Embrace Your Cowgirl Spirit”. I would like to ask you what that means to you. What is Cowgirl Spirit to you?
M: Cowgirl Spirit is something where you leave all of the negative behind. Embrace the positive. Do the best you can do. Do the best your horse can do. And try to have fun!
K: Michelle, thank you so much!! This is awesome!
Well, that’s our March Cowgirl of the Month Interview with Michelle Van Amburg! Thanks so much to Michelle and to all you other cowgirls who are such an inspiration to me! You make my job exciting and something I look forward to doing each and every day—along with riding my horse Janey!
Kim
