Spring breezes chase clouds above my head, letting the sun warm my face for brief moments, while I walk out to the pastures this morning. I spot my horse at the very end of his paddock grazing, and when I reach the gate, I lean on it and wait for him to notice me. Buttercups like miniature yellow sundrops are sprinkled across the carpet of green.
Read MoreWith each lesson these last couple of weeks, I desperately try to remember every word that my trainer utters and to memorize how each exercise is supposed to be executed, how my body is supposed to work, and how Universo feels when he is moving correctly.
Read MoreOn the way into the arena, my horse manages to grab a nibble of the rose bush, almost every single time. My trainer marches my horse right past the rose bush. . . . While I am still meandering around the arena in a stretching trot frame, my trainer is doing leg yields, serpentines, spiral circles, shoulder-in’s, and other bending exercises
Read MoreIt is a gray rainy spring day. I sit at my desk determined to work on my blog. So far, I have made 2 cups of tea, browsed Facebook, munched on some almonds, sorted through a stack of mail, ordered some glass paint markers from Amazon, responded to some text messages, and changed the cover photo on my Facebook page. It is not that I don’t have anything to write about; it is more about actually getting started – AGAIN.
Because that is what riding is . . . getting started again and again. I read my 2015 January post and realized that I still haven’t started exercising with weights, I never finish reading “Dressage Today” every month, I still have not mastered riding changes every 3 and 4 strides consistently, I don’t think I ever attended one clinic as an auditor, I did not volunteer at any shows, I still don’t drink enough water, and I for certain, have not yet shown Prix St. Georges. Then I realized that I was reading my post from the perspective of what I had not accomplished vs. trying to figure out what I had accomplished that was both written down and not written down.
I am riding more consistently often 6 days/week, I am riding in clinics with Verne Batchelder and having my rides video-taped, I drink water, I have become more conscious of the connection between my emotional and physical health, I try to meditate when I walk the dogs letting raindrops clinging tenaciously to the edges of leaves and the chatter of squirrels hiding behind tree trunks fill my brain vs. the constant streaming of thoughts. I make a conscious effort to reach out to friends and make connections beyond my Facebook Home Page. I am trying to become more involved in my community and the world beyond my corner. I am constantly balancing my roles as full-time mom to a house full of teenage girls, part-time secretary, writer, and rider – with the majority of my time appropriated for the role of “Mom”.
This year I am going to start it out with the phrase . . . I am enough.
May we each find the balance of being enough this year.
It is a gray winter day. I sit at my desk determined to work on my blog. So far, I have made 2 cups of tea, browsed Facebook, munched on some almonds, sorted through a stack of mail, ordered some glass paint markers from Amazon, responded to some text messages, and changed the cover photo on my Facebook page.
I read my 2016 January post and realized that I still haven’t started exercising with weights, I never finish reading my current issue of “Dressage Today”, I still have not mastered riding changes every 3 and 4 strides consistently, I don’t think I ever attended one clinic as an auditor, I did not volunteer at any shows, I still don’t drink enough water, and I have not yet shown Prix St. Georges.
Then I realized I was reading my post from the perspective of what I had not accomplished vs. what I had accomplished.
I am riding more consistently and mindfully, I ride in clinics with Verne Batchelder and get video-taped, and I drink water. I have become more conscious of the connection between my emotional and physical health; I try to meditate when I walk the dogs and let the colors of the sky and the chatter of squirrels hiding behind tree trunks fill my brain vs. the constant streaming of thoughts. I make a conscious effort to reach out to friends and make connections beyond my Facebook Home Page. I am trying to become more involved in my community and the world beyond my corner. I am constantly balancing my roles as full-time mom to a house full of teenage girls, part-time secretary, writer, and rider – with the majority of my time appropriated for the role of “Mom”.
This year I am going to start it out with the phrase . . . I am enough.
May we each find the balance of being enough this year.
. . . Dressage is actually about finding and keeping your center with all of the input from your horse and your surroundings and the ability to provide direction and feedback to your horse with clarity and simplicity.
If I apply this to my daily life, that simply means: I need to breathe deeply and exhale slowly when stressors start to pile up. I need to substitute positive thoughts when negativity blocks my path. I need to center myself in the middle of the chaos.
And take it simply, one bite at a time . . . hey, are you sure there aren’t any more cookies? Anywhere? Houston, we have a problem! I NEED COOKIES! . . .
Read MoreIt was difficult to leave my cozy home office, where I was writing in my journal and drinking hot tea, to venture out into the cold gray day for a riding lesson. I set up the riding lesson on purpose, since I knew that I would need some outside source of motivation to get myself to the barn on a day with the temperatures below freezing.
Read MoreIn the field, we watch deer watch us from the edge of the woods. In the woods, a leaf spirals down. Hoofbeats silent on pine needle paths. A turtle slides into the pond. We walk past paddocks where horses nap in the sunshine.
Read MoreRider Development. What are the stages that you go through as a rider? Physical acquisition of skills. Cognitive understanding of theory. Emotional stages as you overcome fear, learn discipline, and find joy riding horses. Share with me your development as a rider. Come with me on my journey as a dressage rider.
