Kids workshop, July 2011

Today, I organised a play day for the kids at the riding school. Basically the owner/instructor wants all the kids to learn some Natural Horsemanship and she wants all the ponies to be trained so that they can be ridden in halters. She did some clinics with Pat in the eighties. She is a very knowledgeable lady who has a beautiful way with horses. I told her that I would come and give her a hand every school holiday for a couple of days each time.

We already did a couple of play days last school holiday so today was my third time. I felt a lot more confident and relaxed.

I started with a little talk on the basis of Natural horsemanship then did a demo. The kids did some simulations then a bit of ground work and finish by riding their ponies bare back and learn to bend them to stop.

Today everyone had an awesome day. It was one of the most rewarding things I have done in a long time. The smile on the little 9 years old girl's face when I showed her the pushing passenger position to stay at the sitting trot was priceless.  I helped a teenager girl find connection with her worried RBI. It was so beautiful! When she learnt to slow down and matched his energy, both his and her face softened.  At the end of the workshop I asked all the kids what have they learn. This particular girl said she had learnt how to connect with her horse. From the way she said it and from the chat we had afterwards I knew a fire had been lit! 

The little shred of doubt that lingered in my mind have been lifted. I will become a Parelli Professional and specialize in teaching kids. 

Up and down, round and round! or a year with Cisco.

I have become very aware that my moods are a mirror of how happy I am with my horsemanship. The days I don't get to see the horses are a little miserable, the days where we have a wonderful connection, I am flying with eagles and the days where things don't gel, I am down!
It's not so much about what we achieve, it's about how we achieve it. How good is our relationship? how strong is our bond,? Am I the best leader I can be for them. The days we walk back to the paddock and they still want to hang around with me when I take their halter off, are the good days!
I remember reading John Baar's blog on Parelli Central: "Are you happy with your horsemanship? " and I guess it's a blog I need to read again and again and remind myself to be a little more gentle on myself.
I often ask myself what do I really want out this Parelli journey? The truth is that I am extremely ambitious: To become as good as Linda! To become a world class horseman! Stephanie Westall or someone like this.
The reason: Not the fame and not money! I want to be able to develop amazing relationship with horses. That connection is totally addictive. Do I want to become a Parelli Professional? Yes, of course.

Yet, I do enjoy the journey immensely. This is new to me. Usually, when I am driven by a goal, I totally forget to enjoy myself. Now it's the opposite. The goal is there but the little steps along the way bring me happiness.
Today, I bought a Lotto ticket. I only do this once a year. Then I thought what would I do if I won? I would do 3 things: I would invest the money and have a big long think. I love my life and I wouldn't want to turn it upside down overnight.  I would give a generous amount to the Parelli foundation. I would definitely aim to get myself to the Parelli Campus for as long as they would have me!
I got my first horse a year ago so it's a good time to do a little summary. I keep thinking I started Parelli in 2008 but I checked today and it was Christmas 2009. I played with a rescue horse for 6 months till she was a relax happy mare and the friend who had rescued her could find her a permanent home. This gave me the confidence to buy a horse. Cisco arrived in my life as a 2 and a half years old, green started, a real baby, on the 14th of July 2010! It was love at first sight. We did our first clinic, a level 2 clinic, with Louise Atkinson in September 2010. Since then, we have progressed to level 3 in the 3 savvys and are pretty much ready to audition. I have also started playing with yet another abused OTTB, Trigger and he has made dramatic changes. From being a tense sweaty mess, he has become a relax confident horse, nearly all the time, who can be ridden out on the trail safely.
So I guess, I should really feel proud of my achievements but the thing is, I'm not!
So what do I have to be unhappy about? When I watch myself on video, whether riding or online, I am nearly always disappointed! They are a few seconds here and there where it's perfect and then it's gone. Perhaps, it's normal, maybe there is no other way to become excellent than to be highly critical. I guess it's hard to remain objective on oneself. I live in Parelli land, at least virtually, thanks to social medias and Parelli Connect so it's seems normal to me to stand up on your horse or ride bridle less. As soon as Cisco and I achieve a new level of understanding and connection, I am ready to move on the next one.
Conclusion: The journey of never ending self improvement is not for the wimps or  the self-indulgent! The search for excellence is fun, exhilarating, rewarding and will take you up and down and round and round!

Dreams do come true!

It's seems only yesterday since I wrote my new year resolutions! One of them was to write at least one blog a month. I didn't get to write a blog for June but I wrote one for Parelli Central about the Game of Contact so I guess I did write! So I have defaulted a tiny bit but yet, it's been good to revisit my new year resolutions and find out that they have already all been fulfilled and that I have set new bigger better goals in the meantime.
Driving the float has been mastered with much more ease if not grace than expected. I have done a lot of filming to psyche myself for my level 3, some of which is now on my channel on Youtube
and the money for the fast track or whatever other course I will choose is safely in the bank. Wow! I never thought I would achieve all that by July!

The horses love Charlie!

Now being slightly (read: madly) driven I have moved the goal post by another few miles and started looking for land to move in with my horses. This has been very much in the fore front of my consciousness for sometimes but they have been some hurdles. First, my husband wasn't on board, second, we live at the edge of the desert and I want land with trees, vistas, good soil, water and tons of charms! Fussy, me? just a little, but I can't bear taking my horses to a sand pit. Yet, not living with them has been harder and harder to the point that I had to be honest with my husband and tell him that I would make it happen with or without him. I guess, he didn't have much choice, but I know him well enough to be sure that once we are on the land, he will love it and thanks me for "making him". This has been the story of our life! So now, we are looking and waiting for something special to come up and it will!
Something else has been nagging me! I really wanted Charlie to start getting interested in horses. I love spending time with my husband and with my horses and really wanted more than anything to be able to merge the two. It wasn't a nice feeling to be with the horses, while feeling guilty that I should be at home and to be at home, wishing I was with the horses. Well, Charlie had a minor professional disaster which left him for a few months without much to do. After doing lots and lots of cooking and gardening, he finally decided that he would give horsemanship a go, and he loves it! I can't even describe how happy it makes me to be able to go to the horses with my husband! I am already dreaming of going to the Parelli Campus in Pagosa Spring together and perhaps doing some joint demos! The poor man has hardly ever sat in a saddle, but let's not get small details like this stop me! As for my own horsemanship journey? Just wait for the next blog and have a guess.

On top of the world!

When I first started on this wonderful journey, I really never thought I would be where I am now so quickly! Dreams do come true! And then you can start dreaming bigger dreams! I guess I'll never be the content type!!!