Life is all about timing. Sometimes, it can work in our favor. In other cases, the lack of time we’re given seems cruel and unfair. But it’s our reaction to the events in life that ultimately make all the difference.

Twenty miles from Nashville, the undisputed country music capital of the world, multiple champions Ryan Cottingim and Amanda Gately set down roots in Spring Hill, Tennessee, in 2014.

I’d made it over a year with my horse before the first emergency vet call, so I really didn’t know what to expect as the collection of jars and syringes piled up on the tailgate of the veterinarian’s truck.