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What a 5 AM Horse Show Morning Taught Me About Being a Better Agent | Spokane WA

  • Writer: Hailey Austin
    Hailey Austin
  • Aug 3
  • 3 min read

At the end of June I was standing on the show grounds in Cle Elum at 5 AM when two of my listings went live back home in Spokane.


The horses needed feeding. A mane needed braiding. Coffee needed grabbing for me and my trainer. And I had a bike ride down to the arena ahead of me to write out the jump courses for my classes before the day got loud. I had my phone in one hand and was doing what needed to be done with the other.



What Gets Delegated and What Does Not


I had an agent on the ground back home. If something came up that required a physical presence I had that covered. That is just good planning.


But there is a part of every transaction that cannot be handed off and I want to be direct about what that is. It is not just availability or responsiveness. It is knowing the property deeply enough to answer any question about it. It is understanding what each listing needs to find the right buyer. It is carrying the full weight of what this transaction means to each client and not setting that down because something else is happening in your life.


That part is always mine. A horse show in the mountains does not change that.



Sole Responsibility


I take sole responsibility for every transaction I am part of. That is not a tagline. It is just how I think this has to work given what is actually at stake.


Buying or selling a home is one of the most significant financial and emotional decisions most people make. It deserves an agent who is fully invested in it from the first conversation to the day you get your keys. Not an agent who shows up when it is convenient and delegates the rest.


I understand the weight of that because I have seen what it looks like when clients feel like they are not the priority. I made a decision early on that would never be my clients’ experience and I have built everything around that commitment since.



Where That Comes From


It came from the barn. It always comes back to the barn.


Horse people learn early that you show up fully for something that depends entirely on you regardless of how tired you are, regardless of what else is on the schedule, regardless of whether anyone is watching. You do the preparation so that when the moment comes you are ready for it. You do not cut corners because the horse knows and eventually the results know too.


That is the version of work ethic I brought into real estate. The quiet unglamorous preparation that makes the outcomes possible. The willingness to be fully present for my clients the way I am fully present for my horses because both deserve nothing less.



For Buyers and Sellers in Spokane and North Idaho


I work with buyers and sellers across Spokane, Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Deer Park, Chattaroy, Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, and the surrounding Inland Northwest. If you want an agent who is fully in it for you from the first conversation to the closing table, I would love to connect.



Or call or text 509-210-6581. I will be there. Even if I am also braiding a mane at the time.

 
 
 

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