Chance and I first met in June 2024 at the Cross Country Trail Ride in Eminence, Missouri. Naturally, our love story began at the local bar — The Wet Spot — where a mutual friend, Jason, introduced us. We talked for a while, and before the night ended, I decided to make a bold move and put my number in his phone myself under the name “Kayla Walker Trail Ride.” Subtle, I know. I fully expected we’d spend the rest of the week together… but instead, I never saw him again — and he didn’t call. Trail ride ghosted. A few months later, in early September, I got a text that said, “Hey, this is Chance from Kentucky.” (Which is exactly how he is still saved in my phone.) What started as a few texts quickly turned into constant conversations. From the very beginning, it felt easy — like we had known each other much longer than we had. Somewhere along the way he started calling me “Trail Rider,” and I started calling him “Kentucky.” The nicknames stuck… and so did we. On my 33rd birthday, we went back to the October trail ride where we had planned to finally meet up again. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t completely sure at first — he wasn’t exactly what I had pictured as my “type.” But my friend Mary Helen kept saying, “Give Chance a chance.” Turns out, she might always be right. I later found out that during that first trail ride, he had actually been dating someone else. But when he told me the truth himself, it didn’t upset me — it showed me exactly who he was. Honest. Direct. And a whole lot different than most. After my birthday dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, I was supposed to meet him at The Wet Spot. As the time got closer, I started getting nervous and considered backing out. Thankfully, my friend Julie refused to let that happen and drove me over herself as my official wing woman. And because my family has zero chill, my sister and mom had to come in and meet him too. After that night, we were inseparable. The very next weekend, I invited Chance to a charity event in Nashville. He didn’t hesitate — he went out and bought a suit just for the occasion. Nothing says “I’m serious about you” quite like a man voluntarily purchasing formalwear. Somewhere between that weekend, the way he showed up so intentionally, and the way everything just felt steady and right… I knew he was my person. I like to say it was all because of my lucky number three. We met on my 33rd birthday. It was my third trail ride of the year. And yes — he was technically my third “trail ride boyfriend.” At that point, the math was mathing. From The Wet Spot to forever… it was all meant to be. And now we cannot wait to start this next chapter together, surrounded by the people we love most.