- I've actually had my teeth knocked out of place twice.
So I've had several injuries over the years.
Hi, my name is Scnobia Stewart.
I'm an equestrian, and this is how I work it.
I'm going to take you through 24 hours
of my beauty and wellness routine.
So I've been an equestrian for over 20 years.
I started riding when I was around six or seven years old.
I've won countless ribbons over the years
and done two performance medals.
In 2017, my horse got Horse of the Year.
Typically my shows are on the weekends,
but I also have a full-time job
working in the biotech pharmaceutical industry.
I've learned to kind of balance it,
but it is a little bit difficult to balance a full-time job,
as well as competing in dressage.
I also have a farm where I grow industrial hemp
and different vegetables.
So it's hard to kind of keep all of that together,
but I just kind of make it work.
So I'm just waking up.
In the mornings I typically have some water beside my bed.
I've got some alkaline water,
and I'll just take a few sips,
try to wake myself up a little bit.
The first thing I like to do is just kind of lay there
and think about what all I need to do for the day
and get my thoughts organized.
From there I go ahead and shower for the day.
I always wear a shower cap,
and I make sure I have the ones with the satin line.
I do put quite a heavy emphasis on washing my face
and making sure that my pores are clean.
So I use this Biore Rose Quartz with charcoal,
and it really kind of gets down deep.
I really like it because I sweat a lot when I ride horses
or just outside in general.
My biggest thing that I have
a recurrent issue with is styes.
So I really have to make sure
that I keep my face clean around my eyes,
'cause that is something,
a skin issue that I have that's chronic.
So I actually will place a piece of fatback meat,
and I'll place it on my eye and hold it there
for about 10 minutes or so.
And the salt within the meat will kind of draw
that infection that's under the skin and it'll draw it out,
and typically the style will be gone within a day or two.
I got the idea from my grandmother.
She's got a lot of old school remedies
and that's one that I've found that's worked for me.
As far as body wash, I use two different things.
So first thing I use is Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap
with hemp and lavender.
It's organic.
It's got lots of different oils in it.
Organic coconut oil, Palm kernel oil,
olive oil, hemp oil, jojoba oil,
it has lots of things in it.
It's great, I love it.
Also, I use this Dove exfoliating beauty bar as well.
As far as my hair, when I'm out on the farm or at the barn,
and I typically will pull my hair to the back
and just have it in a ponytail,
but I want to make sure that my hair
is nice and moisturized in the morning.
I have found that this line of products, Smooth Shine.
It has black seed oil and coconut oil.
I use it both in conjunction with each other.
So this is just kind of like a serum, a protecting gel.
I have to make sure I keep my hair moisturized.
And on particularly hot days,
I'll usually have a bandana
to kind of absorb some of that sweat
so that my hair is not wet all day
when I'm outside in the heat.
Most importantly before I go outside, is I use sunscreen.
I know a lot of people don't use sunscreen,
but I definitely think that it's very important.
I just use a generic sunscreen.
This is for Walgreens, about 50 SPF.
I have a facial sunscreen for my face,
and then I just have spray for the rest of my body.
I definitely put on deodorant
because I'm going to be outside sweating quite a bit.
The type that I like to use
is Secret Clinical with charcoal.
I've found that it really lasts throughout the day.
I don't have to reapply or anything.
It's a good deodorant.
Then I also use a deodorant called Lume.
That's a different type.
It's the consistency of a lotion.
That's a deodorant that you can put other places.
And I don't know a proper way to say it,
but I use the Lume deodorant between my legs
to try to keep odor down.
So basically Lume is a crotch deodorant.
This is advertised as pits, feet and privates.
In equestrian, you will experience injuries
one way or another.
Over the years I've actually had my teeth
knocked out of place twice,
plastic surgery done on my lip
because of the hole that went through my lip
and I hit a jump headfirst. [laughing]
I've also shattered my ankle, and that was back in 2012,
so I had to have surgery.
I've got a plate and screws,
and I've had several injuries over the years.
For breakfast in the morning,
I typically keep it kind of light.
So I do really like Raisin Bran.
I've liked that since I was a kid.
I use almond milk.
So this is just the unsweetened version.
I probably haven't drank regular milk in quite some time.
Also I do these probiotic dailies for my stomach health.
I got this little mini cantaloupes.
I just kind of threw that in there for the morning,
got this from our local community garden.
If it's a morning that I've got a little bit more time,
I'll actually cook a breakfast and do bacon and eggs.
Typically those come from the farm.
So I try to keep my diet locally sourced.
When you're riding horses,
you don't want to eat a lot of fatty things
and just junk food
because it really kinda just makes you feel crappy.
So you want to feel on top of your game.
So eating nice, wholesome vegetables and meats,
that's very important to being able
to maintain health and ride.
The first thing I do once I've gotten ready for the day
is to take care of whatever chores I have on the farm.
So I do like to have a nice big hat on
to kind of keep the sun out of my face.
Living on a farm, for me I really love it.
It's quiet, and it's laid back,
but there is quite a bit of work
that's associated with living on a farm.
Different tasks that I may do prior to work.
It could be watering plants.
It could be setting up irrigation.
It could be bush hogging,
which is basically mowing with the tractor.
So I'm going to be mowing today on the tractor.
We call it a bush hog, used to cut very high grass.
It could be plowing or cutting up fields
to get the land ready.
Certain times of the year, you're picking vegetables.
One day on the farm is never the same.
Typically I spend an hour, hour and a half at the farm,
and then I changed into my riding clothes.
Typically, what that is is riding britches, a belt, boots.
I try to keep baby wipes and clean towels
just to be able to wipe my face while I'm at the barn,
'cause I'll be sweaty and dirty everywhere.
I also keep bug spray.
That's very, very important in the summertime,
'cause there's horse flies, there's deer flies, ticks.
I put fly spray on my horse.
And then I also put insect repellent on myself as well.
With my horse, he actually has his own
beauty and wellness routine.
So I have to brush him, put show sheen on
and make sure he's nice and shiny,
clean his hooves, put hoof conditioner on.
They can get sunburned, especially on their nose.
So I put a little sunblock on his nose to prevent sunburn.
If he does get scabs from sunburn,
I actually just use, this is zinc oxide,
Desitin, baby rash formula,
and that'll clear it right up.
Another item that I use is gall salve
I use this on the areas
where he's kind of scratched his hair off,
and I found that it actually helps
in growing the hair back pretty fast.
And so I do all these things prior to riding
to make sure that he's comfortable
and clean before we start.
From there, we will go ahead and practice.
And so we work on different movements
that are going to be in our upcoming dressage tests
and really try to refine those movements.
The dressage it's typically it's in the arena
and it's kind of mundane,
but to give my horse a little bit of variety
and flavor to the training,
I do some cross training where I take him out on the trail
before we even start, get some scenery
so that he doesn't feel like he's just stuck in an arena.
I just wanted it to kind of warm up his legs
and let him have a little free time and free up his brain
before we head into the arena
and start practicing for the show tomorrow.
My horse is very opinionated and he will let me know
if he needs a little bit of variety
or something different in his routine.
Typically I can tell by his ears,
if a horse puts his ears back,
you can tell that something's bothering him.
It's sometimes just I know,
I can just look at them and tell that he's stressed
and I need to do something different.
When I practice,
I typically do about 45 minutes to an hour,
which is basically an exercise session with my horse,
and we work on the different movements
that we're going to have in our dressage tests.
My coach, she comes by once a week
and we have an hour session
where we really refine some of those movements,
and I get some assistance with that.
Once I've finished practicing,
the first priority is to take care of my horse.
So he gets a little cookie after we work.
He's a little chunky, but I gave him little teeny cookies.
Take all of his tack off the side of the bridle.
And typically like in the summertime,
he's needs a shower down to really cool down,
so I'll give him a shower.
Since this would be a day before the show,
I would actually take it a step further
and give him a full bath.
He's got lots of products.
I actually use human products on him
to get him really nice and shiny and clean prior to a show.
So once he finishes having a bath,
I'll move forward to braiding him.
I'm gonna turn these into little buttons [indistinct].
And he'll be good to go.
That does take quite a bit of time.
For the longest time, I was not able to make proper braids,
but I finally learned how to braid
and it takes me about an hour.
My horse, he's a good sport about it.
He stands still and lets me braid his hair.
Once I finish braiding his hair,
I do have to put something on to protect it.
The technical term for that is a sleazy.
I actually just call it a do-rag for the horse.
And so it goes over his mane, up under his legs
and stays on there so that the braids stay intact.
And my horse is very mischievous
and he will try to rub his braids out prior to a show.
So that's something that I definitely have to put on
to ensure that his braids are fresh for the next day,
Once I have my horse clean,
I've washed his legs, I've braided him,
I need to clean my equipment
so that all of that is ready to go for the next day.
Once I have that done,
I actually go ahead and pack the trailer.
So I put my equipment on there,
and then I also have to bring a lot of items for my horse
since I'll be traveling with him.
Water, hay, I have to make sure
that his bedding is in there.
And I just make sure the day before a show
that I've got everything ready to go
so that the next morning I can just back my truck up,
hook up the trailer, put the horse on and head to the show.
It's about time for me to go to work.
So I'm about to clean up a little bit
and change into my work clothes and head to work.
I start work at 1:30 PM and I get off work at 10:00 PM.
I have to make sure everything is done prior to work.
For lunch I typically will have made something
the day before, and I just do meal preps.
When I do that, I typically will cook a lot at one time.
One of my go-to lunches would be smoked salmon
with corn and squash,
just whatever really I have harvested that week.
So off to the next adventure.
I'm gonna head to work.
My shift is second shift, so I worked 1:30 to 10:00 PM.
Luckily I've gotten everything done
that I need to for the show tomorrow.
I head home after that
and I try to really wind down at that point.
I'm back home now from work and I'm about to stretch,
then I'm gonna take a shower.
I'm going to take care of my hair, my face, all that,
and I'm going to sleep.
Definitely the day before show I need to stretch.
I focus on my hip flexors and my hamstrings
to really just kind of loosen my body up
so that I'm able to ride properly.
I have a very bouncy horse,
so being stretched out that makes it
just so much easier the next day.
Once I'm off at 10:00 PM, I try to keep it light.
So I'll typically, often I eat the same thing
that I had for lunch.
So if I've got some salmon and whatever vegetables
that I picked that day, I'll just eat that for dinner.
I do shower twice a day, especially in summer time.
I'm sweating, I'm out on the farm, riding all that.
Similar process to the morning,
I wash my face in the shower
with the Biore Rose Quartz with charcoal,
which this is similar to the product I use
after I freshen up from riding.
And I do a heavy emphasis on washing my eyelids
to try to prevent styes.
Body wash same as this morning, Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap
with hemp and lavender.
Once I'm out of the shower, I'm gonna brush my teeth,
take care of my hair and I am going to bed
because it's been a long day,
and I've gotta get up super early in the morning
for the horse show.
As far as taking care of my hair at night,
I moisturize again,
I use a few different products at night time.
I use the same one as from this morning, the Smooth Shine.
It's kind of like a serum gel that goes onto the hair
and it just kind of locks in moisture.
For my dry scalp, I grease my scalp,
and this is Bronner Brother's Double Strength Super Grow.
And last but not least,
I also have the serum it's called Grow It Back.
I have had shedding and stuff.
Right now my hair is doing pretty good,
but I do use it because it's got really good ingredients.
And then I also will put on a satin bonnet
to really protect my hair while I'm asleep.
Okay guys, tomorrow is the big competition day.
I want to thank Allure for follow me around today
and we'll also see tomorrow.
All right, good night.
[alarm buzzing]
The day of a competition, I typically get up quite early.
It depends on whatever ride time I have for the day.
Typically I'll have a morning ride time,
which would mean I'm getting up around 5:00 AM
and heading to the barn.
As far as a beauty routine before a show,
with my hair it doesn't really matter
because I'm going to sweat it out anyways,
but I make sure that I pull it back,
and I actually have a hairnet for shows
so that I just pull it back into a barrette
and have a net on it so that it looks nice and neat.
When I'm competing it's not important
that I put on makeup or anything like that.
You're sweating, there's dirt everywhere,
and it really just would kind of get in the way.
So I just don't even bother, I just don't put on makeup.
The first thing I do is I check my truck box
and I make sure that I have everything I need
in case there's a roadside emergency.
I make sure I've got my air compressor in there.
I've got jumper cables.
I've got a jack, spare tire,
and make sure everything is there
because it's very important if you're traveling with a horse
to be self-sufficient and
be able to take care of things, if they arise.
From there I hook the trailer up.
I got the hitch hooked up.
I just need to let it down.
Using a little WD40.
Then I go check my horse.
And the day before I will have washed him
and washed his legs,
but typically he will have played in mud the night before.
So I've got to rewash his legs again,
and then I put protective boots on him in the trailer.
So these are Zima's shipping boots.
I put 'em on to protect his legs on the trailer,
just in case he was to nick it on something.
He likes to do things like that, too.
From the day before,
I will have already pretty much packed everything.
So it's just a matter of hooking the trailer up,
checking my horse out and getting him on the trailer,
and getting ready to head to the show.
Before a show I like to get pumped up by listening to music.
Luckily I live way out in the country
so I can blast it as loud as I want to.
Not necessarily any genre, it could be hip hop.
It could be country, classical,
just whatever I'm in the mood for
to kind of stimulate my brain before heading to a show.
Once I first arrive,
the first thing I have to do
is go check in with the show management.
I have to show paperwork that shows
that my horse has been vaccinated and he's healthy.
And I sign in, I get my number that will go on his bridle.
So I got Zima off the trailer and we are getting ready.
Putting the saddle on, spruce him up a little bit.
So a lot of my day with the horse
is actually beauty and wellness for him
because I want to make sure that he looks top-notch
when we're in the arena.
And a lot of people in equestrian,
they do have their own groom.
I don't have my own groom,
and I think that it's actually helpful
in the bond with the horse
to really be involved and completely involved
with your horse prior to a competition.
So my moments right before I go into the show arena,
is I like to take several deep breaths,
because I get anxious sometimes,
well, pretty much all the time if I'm showing.
So I like to take a deep breath and really calm down
and think about the pattern that I'm about to ride
in the dressage test,
and then right before I head in the arena,
I just say a little prayer.
And then I just kind of smile and get into it with my horse
once we're in the show arena.
- [Announcer] 574 will compete next.
This is Scnobia Stewart riding Zima.
- There was a point where I kind of sat back and reflected
and I was like, oh wow, I'm doing quite a bit for my horse,
but I'm not quite taking care of myself,
and so I've learned to make sure
that I'm taking care of myself and my horse over the years,
but it has taken some time to get that balance there.
I typically, I make sacrifices for my horse,
but I have to remember that I have to take care of myself
for my horse to be able to be taken care of.
But the most challenging part of my career
would be to keep that balance and bond with my horse
even though I have a lot of other things going on.
That's very, very important in dressage.
You and your horse really need to have an understanding
to be able to dance together and compete.
And so it is challenging with the farm and my full-time job
to really keep that bond with my horse
and that understanding.
I have had some naysayers over the years
about making a career out of equestrian
and continuing to ride throughout my adult years.
A lot of people they see me
and they're like, oh, you're still riding horses.
I'm like, yes, I'm still riding horses.
A lot of people think that equestrian is kind of a phase
and something that you'll age out of,
and that just has never happened to me.
Being an equestrian and particularly in dressage,
it is just a passion of mine.
And I think that I'm going to be doing dressage
until the day I die. [laughing]
All right, it's almost lights out.
It's been a long day.
I've got to get up quite early tomorrow.
So I am about to go to sleep,
but thank you Allure for following me around today.
Goodnight.