"Somewhere behind the rider you've become,
the hours of practice you've put in,
& the coaches who have pushed you,
is the little girl who fell in love with the sport and never looked back.
Ride for her."
When I was a bit younger, I was always intrigued by quotes. I had them clipped out and written and pasted all over the room I happened to be calling home at the time. I could find a quote that pretty much summed up anything in my life, and choose to rely on other people's words to describe was I was experiencing.
I still like quotes, but maybe not to the fanatical level that I did in the past. The above quote though, I think is pretty much amazing.
When I was a working student, I made the decision that I didn't want to be a professional in this crazy horse industry. I saw first hand how the pressure changes the relationship between horse and rider, and I didn't want that strain on my horses. I wanted a career that would support them so riding could be fun!
But now, thanks to my wonderful friends and clients, and AMAZING little horse, I'm realizing I can have my cake and eat it too. Each day, I love that I can help horses be more confident in their jobs, and that I can enjoy my horse just as if he weren't a big, bad eventer.
Last night, I had the words of that quote echoing in my head as I contemplated what to do with Prophet. I wasn't feeling the greatest, and it was getting quite late (I'd had a lesson and grocery shopping to do after work). I needed to do something with the Diddy as he'd had Sunday off, so decided to hop on for a bareback ride around the farm.
As my pony and I wandered around, I realized that all the dandelions had turned and now P and I had a bit of a white fog following us as the seeds floated in the air. We trotted and cantered around, in the near dark, making our own smoke show for a bit, and I got to simply enjoy sitting on this great horse, kind of thankful I can still have those "little girl" moments of happiness.
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