Meet Jamie Irby

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jamie Irby. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jamie below.

Hi Jamie, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I credit the horses for my work ethic. Anyone that has horses knows what I am talking about. All throughout school, I would wake up early to feed and take care of horses before going to school. Feeding horses, cleaning stalls, being up all night with them when they are sick and taking them to an equine hospital hour away in the middle of the night. There is no vacation or holiday when you own horses. My parents have also shaped my work ethic. They have always worked hard on whatever they do. I would definitely say horses along with my parents.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

The first time that I ever rode a horse was when I was 6 years old. Horses have been my passion ever since. I was a competitive Hunter/jumper rider competing up and down the East Coast. During my final junior year riding (1994), I rode a 13.3 Hand Large Pony to Large Pony Champion and Grand Pony Champion at The Washington, D.C. and The Meadowlands, NJ International Horse Shows (for those of you who don’t know horses, 13.3 hands is a very small, large pony that is typically not able to take on the height of the large pony jumps). After graduating from the University of SC in December of 1997, with a BS in Business Management, I continued to train and ride horses with Ron Danta and Danny Robertshaw of Camden, SC. I eventually decided to ride and show professionally. I had everything I wanted, or so I thought.

That is when I realized that something was missing and felt that I was not using the gifts GOD had given me for His Purpose. In 1998, I started working with children with autism, teaching them to ride and sharing her love of horses. Ten years later, I established Blissful Dreams, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing compassion, love and acceptance to anyone in need. I began to realize that I could still make horses my career, but I could do it to help others. GOD gets all the credit for Blissful Dreams. During it all I was able to get my License as a Veterinary Technician. I current live in Huger, SC with my daughter, Samantha, and all the animals on Blissful Lane.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Resilience, determination, and willingness to always be willing to learn from others. I have severe anxiety when it comes speaking or performing in front of people. I have had to fight this anxiety all of my life. This anxiety has paralyzed me at times. I have had to use resilience in every situation of anxiety. There are also times in life where I have failed. I have had to show and use lots of determination to get where I am. If I quit at every one of my failures I would never get anywhere. I have had to fight hard for what I have and never give up when things get difficult.

I am big on teamwork and networking to help learn from each other. We all have different gifts, strengths, and weaknesses. I know I am learning something from someone every single day. Always be willing to learn from others and be willing share knowledge to others around you, and you will accomplish so much more.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

I had a rough past year with losing our 30-year-old horse (I had since he was 5 years old) from strangulating lipomas, my 12-year-old Great Dane from osteosarcoma, and my 28-year-old pony from laminitis. In addition to that I had a foot surgery and knee surgery, all back-to-back. I struggle with autoimmune challenges that have been flaring. I am blessed to have a supportive family and amazing volunteers that help keep everything going when I am unable. My faith, prayers, and Blissful family are definitely helping me through this season.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blissfuldreams.com
• Instagram: Blissful_Dreams_Rescue_Ranch
• Facebook: Blissful Dreams Rescue Ranch