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.
After succeeding in endurance riding early on, I hit a 7-year wall of failure. I never gave up the idea that I’d ever ride endurance again ~ but I did give up the idea that of course I would. I let myself consider a life in which I just rode. Here’s why I nearly gave up…and why I chose to endure.
Horse training is a lifelong journey. I’m not an elite horse trainer, but I can adopt the characteristics of one. Here’s what that looks like in real life.
What would happen if we average equestrians applied the habits of professional athletes to our own cross-training?
Explore the key habits, choices, and beliefs of an elite equestrian endurance rider (even if you aren’t one).
We love our retired horses, but it can be hard to spend meaningful time with them. Here’s how I found shared purpose with my retired endurance horse.
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 …
I didn’t consider myself an athlete until I was nearly thirty…and even then, I questioned my qualifications. What makes an equestrian an athlete?