Susan and Reed Man pole bending at the Kansas State High School Rodeo
Last week I had a lesson in trust. Before I had children, I rode a horse almost daily. I had grown up showing in western events from halter to barrel-racing, my favorite events being the speed events. When I was in college I discovered jumping and fell in love with it.
When I was barrel-racing in high school, I had come out of the first barrel out of position for the second. I corrected my horse and leaned heavily in my right stirrup. Reed Man, knowing his job, corrected as well, I slid right off and under him, and he stepped on me. Needless to say, my showing was done for a few days.
My riding had dwindled, and I wasn’t showing after my first two children. I had a young horse that I was going to start on barrels in the spring when I found out I was pregnant with my third child. At that point, I had no business being on a young horse. I have never gotten back to riding on a regular basis and I don’t own a horse that I would ride now.
Susan jumping Zandy Parr. Photo by J Bar D Photography.
Over the last several years I’ve been on some trail rides with friends or at retreats. Usually on trails that were more challenging than I was used to.
The first one was at the Nature’s Conservancy that is about 20 miles away. It was beautiful and I was honored that the cowboy who took me trusted me enough to take me and let me ride one of his horses. It was an exhilarating experience. It was also a little scary at first.
Susan and Puma before the trail ride at Dryhead Ranch. Photo by Kimberly Beer
Then I went to a women’s retreat in Montana two years ago. Part of it was riding. We were paired with horses based on our riding experience. At first, I had a little trouble with Hoss. Horses who are in these strings are used to having inexperienced riders. When I finally let go and had patience in what he was doing it was much easier.
Last week I was again in Montana at a beautiful ranch for a photography retreat. We had the opportunity to go on a trail ride. The terrain on this ranch was more rugged than at the other two places and at one point we were on a trail that was on the edge of a hill. It was intimidating and I wanted to take control. Instead, I sat back and trusted Puma to know better than I how to traverse down the hill.
Trust is built with good communications. I was in communication with my horses and they each responded by letting me know that they knew what they were supposed to do.
Would you like to work on your communications and trust? Come join me and my herd for a Connection Circle to find out where the breakdown is. Connect with me here to learn more.
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Onward!
