I have a lovely 13-year-old student who is much more mature than those years. She is gifted, committed and built to sit on a horse. She has been in a saddle since she was six. To each lesson she brings a mixed bag of anxiety, self doubt, fear of failure and extreme shyness. Her predisposition to anxiety causes relaxation issues and the inability to remain present and Mindful. Her self-doubt results in not trusting her instincts in the moment. Her fear of failure stops her mind, locking it in place when she needs it most. Her shyness makes her not ask questions that will help her become self assured and confident. I delight in teaching her. I know I have the tools to help her discover herself in a way she has never known herself to be. Tools that will not only help her inside the ring, but out in the world as well. If I did not address all these issues, how could I help her achieve her dreams? Don’t we realize that we are not just creating riders but we are helping them become visionaries and trainers too?
In my desire to alter the ever deteriorating state of modern riding, I do not believe that I can leave the welfare of the rider out. If you desire to have riding transformed from a practice of force and cruelty to softness, partnership and connection on a superior level, you must always keep the well being of the horse in the forefront. It is easy then to see that the rider is the key to the kingdom. We can give to those who lost their dreams skills they can bring to their life as well as their riding. In the end, it is we , the instructors and trainers, who must see our students as greater than they see themselves. What is more wonderful than watching someone blossom right before your eyes?
