In riding, we make attempts of setting goals, giving ourselves something to inspire, challenge, motivate, and reward ourselves with. We feel accomplished when we have met the goal, or disparaged when we fall short of it. Perhaps the goal is not specific enough to attain or fail at, so becomes a safety net of sorts.
The art of riding is not in obtaining a goal, or some level of riding that is praised by those around us. The true reward, the motivator, the inspiring challenge, is that of the path we travel. To be present in the here and now, the individual moment in which we are interacting with our horse. How difficult it can be to shut out all of the past and future – the memories of how we performed before (good or bad), or perhaps that we are running on a tight schedule for time, or we are concerned about meeting the demands of our goal or maybe a competition that is coming up, etc. When we run on these thoughts, we cannot devote our attention to the horse, and we cheat ourselves and our horse.
To let go of these goals, and allow our motivation to come from a central place of the here and now, creates so much power. It energizes, and because you are fully attentive to the moment you are more capable of picking up on the nuances and subtleties hinting at progress than when you are looking at the past or future for answers as to the here and now. The goal becomes simple, to follow the path. To put one foot in front of the other. You don’t look down the road wondering how you will possibly get there, or look behind you on the path wondering how you possibly got to where you are or why you haven’t traveled any further than you have. You simply let your feet guide you, letting the past disappear and the future become only an idea in the distance, something which you have heard of but do not put all of your mind to. Rather you are here right now, and by being here you bring the horse here as well. You become synchronous with one another. Harmony arises.