A little girl lives a quarter mile up my road, on a three-acre plot with a battered farmhouse and tumbledown fence. She runs to the mailbox when I ride by, and she calls me “Highness” when she thinks I cannot hear. It is embarrassing, but sweet. I have not been an adult too long to …
Earlier this afternoon, Stacy Westfall offered a webinar that resonated with my own preoccupation of the month: Setting Goals and Overcoming Obstacles. I glean nuggets from Stacy every time I hear her talk, so I jumped at the chance to attend. Here are my notes: Stacy started out with the obvious question and answer: Why …
Seminar Notes: Stacy Westfall on Setting Goals and Overcoming Obstacles Read More »
Do you get the feeling that society at large has thrown in the towel? People keep talking about the end of 2020 as though everything will magically be better when the clock strikes midnight on January 1. I’ll admit the concept has spawned some good jokes, like the “wipe away 2020” roll of toilet paper …
Over a decade ago, when I had to unexpectedly retire a young endurance horse, I wrote this post on how to respond when a dream collapses.
Snow fell on the farm today. I found myself out in it, bundled in thick gloves and a hood, because the water tanks needed filling. The horses’ coats, bejeweled with ice, stood out from their round bodies. Whinnies caroled as I tossed extra alfalfa to keep them warm. I rested my elbows on a paddock …
Autumn. The skies have rained and blown for weeks. Blankets have been on and off the horses. Salted mashes consumed. Saddles nestled in the tack room, waiting. And then, yesterday! Dawn broke still and the farm floated alone in a heavy cloak of fog. Mist froze on branches, wire, hay, and manes. I warmed a saddle pad …
There’s something about being on a horse that makes people want to say hello. I do most of my conditioning rides on the grid of agricultural roads surrounding my farm. Just about everyone who passes in a car, driving a tractor, or riding a motorcycle offers a wave. Once in a while, someone stops to …
We are grounded. To varying degrees around the world, we are all being asked to stay home. No concerts, no weddings, no afternoons at the strip mall. There is much talk of these measures being too little, too late ~ or perhaps too much, too soon. We don’t know how bad it will be …
My first job was at a small, shabby horse farm in the valley below my childhood home. The driveway peeled off from a curvy, gravel road lined with hotwire paddocks, all nibbled bare and dotted with broodmares. The barn was creaky and drafty, with packed dirt aisles and a radio tuned to the country station. …
I wrote this post during a deep professional struggle that left me with no energy to ride faster than a walk. It’s not about the hurting so much as the healing.