Home Is Where the Heart Is

A couple weekends ago I was able to finally go with my family to a horse pull (it’s like a tractor pull but with horses), which I had been waiting for all summer. My family raises and pulls Belgian horses. I love going to horse pulls. The smell of dirt and sweat drifting through the air. The anticipation of how heavy the load can get and who’s going to win is thick in the atmosphere. Seeing all the regular horse pullers and their families is always something I look forward to but my favorite part is when I get to help hitch. This is where we hook the horses to the sled so that they can pull it 27.5 feet. This may not sound like much, but the horses are excited and ready to go. Anyone who hitches has to be fast on their feet and aware of the horse's every move. I love the adrenaline rush and feeling of satisfaction getting them hooked on the first try.

For the first time this summer, I was finally able to hitch. I hadn’t been able to because I was too busy to go to any pulls. When the pull finally lined up with my schedule, I was so excited! I told my dad, “I don’t care what else I do this weekend, but I want to hitch.” As my dad’s best friend and I were getting ready to hitch, he looked at me and said, “It’s good to have ya back, Lil.” And I said, “This is the only thing I wanted to do this weekend.” 

Throughout the rest of the pull, I saw the community that I had around me. Not only my dad’s friends but even the horse pullers he had never talked to. After every pull, someone would say, “That was a good pull, Zac,” or “That’s some mighty fine help you’ve got!” And when another horse puller was having trouble getting the horses on the sled, everyone would jump up to help.

Home is where the heart is. Although this might just be a cliché, it’s true. At the horse pull that day, none of us were related but we all had heart for what we were doing, and that made it home. I encourage you to find your home and community whether that be through FFA, school, work, hobbies, or your family because those are the people who become your home.

See ya around,

Lily Sloan

2025-2026 Indiana FFA State Treasurer