Water

“It is life, I think, to watch the water.  A man can learn so many things.” 
                                                                                        - Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

Lately I have been amazed at how many times water analogies have entered into the conversation.  Whether we are talking about life and work and using analogies like ships sinking or ponds turning over, or if we are discussing riding horses and using visual pictures like riding waves or splashing in puddles, it seems water is being dropped in to every conversation I have.  With all these thoughts flowing through my brain, I did what I also do and started paddling through some quotes about water, trying to find one that just summarized everything.  Like the elusive fountain of youth, just one quote evaded me, but I was struck with a common theme.  Water in its natural form is a dynamic force.

Picture a creek trickling through a forest.  It bubbles and burbles and is a happy, joyous little break in the landscape.  It may reach a precipice and go crashing down, spraying near-bye vegetation, but from there it moves on passing through shaded areas, sun caked flatlands, even ebbing and flowing when it reaches the ocean.  Eventually each drop of water evaporates, is purified and then formed again to begin a new journey.

Now picture a stagnant pool.  The water’s flow has been stopped.  Impurities leach in and the oxygen exchange stalls.  Mosquitos’ larvae swim about.  It stinks.  It is ugly.  It is a dreary and unhappy place.

We too are dynamic forces.  We are at our best when we are flowing along, not sitting and stagnating.  Ironically, we are about the only thing that can dam ourselves up.  We choose to get stuck.  For some reason, as humans, we really, really like to grab on, to strain and stress, and make things more difficult than they need to be.  We dam ourselves up into a little puddle and stew.  Then we stagnate and stink.

I’m trying a Fresh Perspective.  I’m trying to view the world as water does.  I’m just passing through.  I’ll make some changes as I carve my path, but nothing will hold me up for long.  I’ll find a way around or I’ll erode a path through.  I want to be a happy bubbling brook.

As I take this perspective into my daily life, it is also affecting my riding.  It is amazing what a different feel you get when you try and pour your horse’s energy into your flowing hands as opposed to trying to hold that energy back.  If your goal is to create a relaxed, supple, flowing ride you must let the energy flow not try and squish it.  I’ve finally felt the crest of the wave with my arms.  Now I need to learn to feel the troughs with my seat and learn to move the water around at will.  It really is all in the way you look at things.  Thank goodness for evaporation, second chances, and Fresh Perspectives.  

Kneading the Dough

“Cooking is like painting or writing a song.  Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors – it’s how you combine them that sets you apart.”     - Wolfgang Puck

We just got back from another great dressage clinic and all I can think about is cooking.  I really dislike cooking.  I love to eat, but at the end of the day, I don’t have a lot of energy or patience left for standing over the stove.  My loss.  Turns out there is a lot cooking can teach us about riding and life.

We’ve all heard it, “Plan your ride and ride your plan.”  Putting that into practice when your horse doesn’t know or agree with the plan can be a little more interesting.  It is a common frustration.  We think of our plan like a roadmap or a recipe.  First rhythm, then relaxation, that brings connection, add impulsion, create straightness, then you get collection.  But somewhere along the line you discover that there is no rhythm in the cupboard today and your regular connection has spoiled.  The air is too dry and the bread won’t rise or the wind is too strong and your horse won’t listen.

When I was little, we used to listen to the Stone Soup song.  It was about some hungry travelers who stopped for food in a small town.  The townspeople didn’t want to share so they told the travelers they didn’t have any food.  Realizing the towns people were worse off than they were, the travelers decided they would feed the town instead, so they set up a pot in the middle of town and put three stones in it.  You can imagine how it finished.  The intrigued townsfolk wondered what the travelers were doing and the travelers explained they were making stone soup.  The farmer thought some carrots would bring out the flavor, so he added a few.  The baker thought a potato might help so he fetched some.  The tailor brought celery, the butcher contributed some meat and on and on.  By the time the stone soup was ready to eat it was the tastiest dish anyone had ever had.  The point is you have to start with something, even if it is just stones.

So your horse comes out of his stall like a fire breathing dragon, you have impulsion!  Now you just have to add the other ingredients.  Maybe knead in a little elasticity and suppleness.  Then you might need to add a little umpf to the tempo.  You might have added a little too much, so now you need to add more half-halts and get the connection back.  The half-halts might kill your energy, so you have to add a little more.  Notice that it is add, add, add.  Just like making gravy, you can’t take back that cup of flour you accidently dumped into the pan.  All you can do is add more milk and stir, stir, stir. 
   

“I don’t like food that’s too carefully arranged; it makes me think that the chef is spending too much time arranging and not enough time cooking.”              - Andy Rooney

Like riding and cooking, life is additive.  There are no take backs.  If you add negativity, you have to add twice as much positive to make up for it.  Measure your words, thoughts and actions carefully, but remember there is no recipe.  Life is active and constantly changing.  Some days you’ll need more sugar, other days a little spice.  Taste your product often.  Check for forming lumps and squish them quickly.  I never thought cooking would give me a Fresh Perspective on riding and life, but if you keep your mind stirring over new ideas, you’ll be surprised what you may find. 

More the Merrier

“Focus on the journey, not the destination.  Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” 

                                                                                -          Greg Anderson

We had an incredible weekend.  Maybe when your expectations are low it makes every success even sweeter, or maybe I just am really, really pleased with the way things went.

The forecast was for an eighty percent chance of showers and thunderstorms all weekend long with a threat of severe weather on Sunday.  I packed a tower of socks, two raincoats, and enough spare pants to clothe an army.  Amazingly we made it through with only one rain delay and reasonably dry feet.  Even if it had stormed the whole weekend, I’m not sure it would have dampened my spirits.

 

Mr. Ryder did some serious growing up over the weekend.  I am so glad we did our dress rehearsal dressage show the weekend before.  From that experience I learned that I needed to pack multiple toys for time in the stall.  I also learned that schooling Friday night might be beneficial, so we tacked up and headed to the warm-up ring.  While the soup didn’t seem to faze Ryder much, I apparently need to put “crossing an extension cord” on my pre-event practice check list.  It took us a good five minutes to get across it.  I was beginning to have serious doubts about our foray into cross country the following day.

After our splish splash in the warm-up, I cleaned up Ryder and put him in his stall with lots of toys while I walked cross-country.  I consider Longview my home event.  I’ve been riding there since I was eight years old.  With eager anticipation I looked down over the hill to the start box, straining to spot our first little log.  It was nowhere to be seen.  With horror I realized they had replaced the friendly little starter log with the old Baby Novice fence.  Sure, it was still a log, but this one was up on a platform and easily six inches taller and wider than anything I’d asked Ryder to jump yet.  From that point forward my thought process was, “If we can get over that first log, we’ll be golden.”  I knew the atmosphere would probably get to him.  I expected lawn chairs, people, and red and white flags to cause much loss of focus.  I did not expect to have to jump his biggest jump yet, right out of the start box.  That’s one thing I love about eventing though, there is no time like the present to learn.

We had a really good warm-up for Dressage on Saturday.  He was relaxed, rhythmical and happy.  Unfortunately we lost a little bit of that when we went over to the main ring and in the heat of the moment, I didn’t ride him as well as he needed.  We put in a fairly lack luster test, but amazingly my sister still managed to get some very nice photos.  Thank you!

Like a big boy, Ryder strode down to the cross country warm-up and we made about one lap before he realized that this was terrifying, overly stimulating, and so very much not what he wanted to be doing.  At one point while I bucked, reared, and spun my way past, the ring steward asked my coach if I was okay.  Even while holding on for dear life I had to laugh at her response, “Oh yeah, she’s fine.  The horse might not be, but she’s fine.”  Sure enough, when I finally got enough steering to choose the direction and approximate speed we started jumping and he settled in pretty well.  We still had baby moments, but eventually we even stood still and watched others warm-up.

In trying to make cross country a fun, no pressure situation, I didn’t ride aggressively to the first jump and we did have a stop, but we came back to it and even with the distraction of a horse crossing the finish line in front of us, Mr. Ryder went right over on try two.  We had some green moments around the course.  Going through the ditch in the woods was a little scary.  We had a hesitation followed by a standing jump over the little drop jump, but for the most part Ryder marched right around his first cross country course like a champ.  I was just absolutely thrilled with him.

Sunday Ryder did his first real show jumping course.  We were all tacked up and ready when they had to send everyone back to the barn for the rain delay.  We stood sheltered under the barn eves for about an hour and a half.  Amazing the wiggly, easily bored Ryder eventually went to sleep.  Standing and waiting is a very important skill for a horse and I was so pleased that he stepped up to that tall challenge so well.  The warm-up was once again soup, kind of the consistency of cream of wheat.  Any horse that didn’t like water either got over it or had a very poor warm-up!  Ryder handled it all well.  Once again, we were presented with an oxer that was bigger than anything I’d practiced.  This time he made a valiant but not very smooth effort the first time and jumped it like a pro on the second try.  In the rind he needed a little coaxing over the first several jumps.  I rode with my stirrups longer than normal to help coax him around and had some very ugly position moments, but by the last four fences Ryder was really getting the hang of things.  I’m sure I left the ring with a face splitting grin.

Ribbon on boot so mouthy doesn't eat it.

 As proud as I am of how well Ryder managed all the challenges of the weekend, it was an extra special weekend because we had an amazing support crew.  Normally at an event my husband or one other friend comes along.  Sometimes my coach is there, but otherwise we are pretty well on our own.  This time, we had people!  My mom, dad and sister all showed up on Saturday to run video and take pictures of both our rides.  My mother and father-in-law both made the trip to cheer us on, as did Ryder’s owner.  I’m quite certain I heard a familiar rebel yell of a foxhunting friend as we made it over fence one plus we had a barn full of well-wishers.  With nasty weather and no certainty of even getting to ride, Ryder’s owner and another barn friend made the trip again on Sunday.  They even had t-shirts!  

It is so wonderful to celebrate a young horse’s successes, but it is so much more exciting when you can celebrate with friends and family.  So, a big heartfelt thank you to everyone who came out and to those of you who cheered from your phones and social media.  It may have just been a little starter course, but Ryder and I felt like we were at Rolex.  It was very cool and gave me a new appreciation and a new perspective on an old sport.

“I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy.  Let’s face it; friends make life a lot more fun.”  - Charles Swindoll

Hatching

“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg.  We are like eggs at present.  And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg.  We must be hatched or go bad.”  - C.S. Lewis

We made it through our first show together.  We weren’t polished and perfect.  Some would argue we weren’t ready, but we went in the ring, did the movement in the right order and left the ring at the appointed time.  What is better is that each time we went in and came out, we performed a little better.

Ryder found all the great big fancy moving dressage horses quite a bit intimidating in the warm-up, but we worked through it managing some semblance of a trot by the time we headed over to the show ring.  Our first test was hurried and minced, but we didn’t have any explosions or arguments. 

Saturday afternoon Ryder was much more confident in the warm-up.  While not jaw-droppingly floaty, he was at least ridable.  The second test showed a note-able change in our rhythm.  It still wasn’t consistent, but at least the trot was actually a distinguishable two beats most of the time.  I did not have Ryder on-my-aids which became readily apparent in our trapezoidal halts (they are supposed to be square) and butt swinging down the rail.  While test two left plenty of room for improvement, I was still very happy with the progress we made since the morning.

I was hugely optimistic about Sunday’s test.  We had a pretty decent warm-up.  However when we went over to the show ring we lost our concentration.  By the end of the test, which included several whinnies, I was getting a little frustrated.  I have to remember that as a four year old, Ryder is still mentally immature.  He is going to have focus issues on occasion.  How we handle those issues is paramount.  Even with a lack of attention we still made baby steps forward.  We got both our canter leads and again our trot was a little more cadenced.  Progress was made.

When we first arrived at the show, someone commented that it was brave of us to do our first show together at a Recognized Show.  I laughed to myself, because I was using this Recognized Show as a dress rehearsal for the Event this coming weekend.  I understand that most people view shows as a chance to show their very best.  To justify going to a show you must have prepared perfectly for months.  I realized a long time ago that I am never going to be perfect and I will never be as prepared as I think I should be. 

Baby birds love to sit in the nest and flap their wings, but they always need momma bird to shove them out to test their wings.  For whatever reason, we never think we are ready.  That’s why I like having several shows on my calendar each year.  One, it takes the pressure off of “that one big show.”  Two, it creates deadlines.  The shows act like momma bird pushing us out of the comfort of home and letting us test or wings.  I don’t expect to soar the first time out.  It is okay to flutter fairly pathetically to the ground.  But next time we’ll be a little stronger.  Next time, we will flap a little harder and stay aloft a little longer.  And the time after that, we might even look like we are enjoying it a little bit.  Someday, if we keep trying, we will be confident and magnificent.  Someday our Perspective will change.  No longer will be looking out of the next and judging the decent to the ground.  We will be looking to the sky and preparing to dance with the wind.

Road Trips

I think I’m a slow learner.  That must be why God has blessed me with so many opportunities to start over.

As I was riding earlier this week, I was struck by how far my perceptions have come.  When we start riding all we worry about is direction and speed.  Sometimes we just worry about the speed!  In time we gain a little more fineness and we start to think about our position.  After what seems like decades of working on our position, some of us start to think about how we can influence the giant beast that has dutifully be toting us around the arena all this time.  Some of us learn rules so that we can play games and win ribbons.  Some of us just keep worrying about that illusive basic balanced seat and others strive toward harmony with their horse.

The truly wonderful part of life with horses is that they simply cannot be conquered.  They aren’t a mountain to be climbed, but more of a mountain range to be thoroughly explored and no one has enough life span to find every nook and cranny and turn over every leaf.

Even if I only count my “main horses,” the horses into which I have poured seasons of my life, I’m on number seven now.  Each one has taken me places I would never have anticipated.  I have learned so many lessons along the way.  I feel like I should “get it” by now, but I don’t.  The more I ride, the more I realize that my blanket of knowledge is more like a mosquito net with thousands of tiny holes.  But that’s okay.

The goal isn’t some fancy shiny illustrious career in the limelight.  The goal is enjoying the journey and what a journey I’m having.

We’ve taken the plunge and are in the process of breeding Nutmeg.  We will know in a couple of weeks if tries one through four were successful.  I was ridiculously excited after our first successful attempt.  Then Nutmeg had a moderate bout of gas colic and I realized that we were on a very long and rickety road toward having a healthy foal.  I’m still looking forward to the trip, but I have returned to cautious optimism.  If Nutmeg taught me only one thing in our time competing together, it was to never count your ribbons before you make it soundly to the winner’s circle.

Ryder and I have been having our growing pains.  We will have some soaring successes followed by several less than stellar rides.  He is entered in his first show of the year this weekend.  We will be playing in the baby classes at the Longview Dressage show both Saturday and Sunday.  My plan is to use the dressage show as a dress rehearsal for the event at Longview the following weekend.  Ryder has been to a few shows and I certainly have the routine down, but it will be good to have a dry run though together before we head off to tackle his first event.

I’m looking forward to the coming season and the road trips it holds.  We are going to put a little more focus on learning and a little less focus on competing this year.  It will be a nice change of perspective.  I have started over so many times, but I gain a better understanding of the process every time.  I’m looking forward to turning over some new leaves, filling a few holes, and enjoying the scenery as we pass it by.

Note: This video's language may offend some.  Fair warning.

The Entertainer

“I’m still an entertainer and always will be... Everyone can go where their mind takes them.  You can live in imaginary places without feeling the real terror or the real pain.  I make the images.  I open the door.  I can inflame….and I can heal…and comfort…and get people to understand.”  
                                                               - From Wild Horses by Dick Francis

I have been rereading many of the books by Dick Francis.  His words captivate me.  No matter what subject, he writes with such a sense of knowing.  Based on his writing, I’d say he could give “The Most Interesting Man in the World” a run for his money.  Either that or he is incredibly good at research.  To my knowledge, his works are in no way autobiographical, but they read with the same sense of realism.  He is truly an entertainer.  He brings the passions and pains of lives we will never live straight into our hearts.  

I’m not sure that it is just a coincidence that his subject always involves horses.  Like Francis, horses have a way of filling us.  They can both fill our hearts and dash our spirits.  They create a fantasy world for us.  Through our love of the equine, we meet new people, learn new things, travel to new places, reach peaks of euphoria and hit rock bottom.  They teach us to love selflessly.  We learn discipline and reward.  Horses, simply, open our eyes to a new way of viewing the world.

For some, the closest they will get to these equines is in fantasy.  They are the subjects of dreams and the backdrops of mystery.  I was cautioned as a teen, to keep my passion and my hobby separate from my job.  I took the advice and always wondered if I made the correct choice.  Slowly I am coming to the realization that for now, they were absolutely correct.  We all need our fantasies.  We all need a place to which we can escape.  Horses offer that safe haven.  I am blessed to have them.

In turn, I have always hoped to share them with others.  They are too great a gift to keep tucked away.  I hope that through this blog, through the helmet cam videos, through pictures and Facebook posts, that you get to share in the fantasy world.  I used to dream of becoming a professional rider, of managing a huge yard of horses, of sponsorships, and of living the professional life.  Turns out I am living the life.  It is just from a Fresh Perspective.  I am too an entertainer.   All I ever wanted to do was share the passion and let you into my fantasy.  I don’t have to be a professional athlete to share the dream.

“He’s playing at what he wouldn’t really like to be, but the imagining of it fills and satisfies him…A good strong fantasy life, I’d guess, saves countless people from boredom and depression.  It gives them a feeling of being individual."       
                                                                                - Dick Francis, Wild Horses

Thank you, Admiral, for reminding me of the joy horses can bring.