The first hints of dusk had begun to gather as Atlas and I slipped away from the noise and bustle, back into the silent wilderness. The world seemed somehow bigger now, more hollow and lonesome and mysterious. We’d come so far, seen so much, and yet this still felt like a kind of beginning, this solitary trot into the night.
It was in that stretch I suffered most. The descent at Eldorado was endless, the heat deeply oppressive. I later heard that it topped 110 degrees. I remember putting one foot in front of the other, telling Atlas to hang on, we must be nearly there.
Tevis. It was everything I expected. It was nothing like I expected. It was more and different than I expected. Experiencing Tevis firsthand replaced the coloring book rendering in my head with a high-resolution photograph. It changed campfire tales into a Hollywood movie. Transformed shadowy images into living beings. Reimagined me. Here is my story. …
Atlas leaned back on his hindquarters. I gave him his head, and his forelegs dropped over the steep ledge. The rocks shifted on the slope, but held. His hind end caught up just in time to make a sharp turn, ducking around a switchback and under a branch. Trees crowded the trail, forcing me to …
Ride Report: 2024 Strawberry Fields Forever Endurance Ride Read More »
In preparation for Tevis, Atlas and I took on the 100-miler at Mary & Anna Memorial 2024. His performance? Stellar! Except for that one thing…
My horse is a barometer of my availability. To really be with her, I must settle into this moment.
Ledger pranced past the vetting area with arched neck and flagging tail. He was boiling to let loose. I wouldn’t have put it past him to buck. One-rein stops had held him back several times in the last two minutes. Let’s race! Storm clouds rose, steely and menacing, from their crouch on the horizon. A …
Life is meant to be ridden like a dressage horse in the ring, balanced astride the power of direction. Focused. Effective. But also ready to adjust at the slightest cue. To halt or bend or pirouette. Ever as prepared to pivot as we are to gallop on.
Most equestrians have, at some point, struggled with fear. This is the story of a terrible fall that shook me to the core and how I regained my horse riding confidence.
