Horse Time

Riding is the best therapy that I can think of, albeit probably not the cheapest, for I can be in the worst mood and yet after only few minutes spent on a horse, I feel like a different person.

I recall how I used to get so uptight when training (and alas still do sometimes) that one day upon hearing me complain for the umpteenth time about how “awful I was at this” or  well “that didn’t go as planned” or “when will I ever learn how to do this right,” etc., etc., etc. my best riding buddy Katrina gently pointed out that, “Victoria, there is no such thing as bad ‘horse time.’”

Fast-forward to today.

I found myself once again hyper-focused on learning how to do “this” exactly right. In this case the “this” would be a certain dressage technique. OK, so I admit, all dressage techniques, and dressage for that matter, are new to me, but anyway, I digress.

The point is that when I was done with my lesson and ultimately stopped thinking for a moment, I was suddenly overcome by a feeling of sheer happiness. It took over my body, like some alien being and the magnitude of it was almost overwhelming. Without realizing it, I was not just smiling, I was beaming and a calm, peacefulness filled my soul.

Hmmm, I thought to myself, this is what it’s all about, not jumping a Prix or having perfect form or winning a competition, but the pure joy that comes from “horse time.”

So I finally get it, this is what my good friend was talking about, to simply enjoy the time and everything else is, well, just details.