I remember, as a newly married 22-year-old (yes, I know, that's young), my first time skiing (on honeymoon, in fact in a chalet with 14 other 'friends'), standing atop a blue run, terrified, my husband (#1) said to me by way of encouraging me out of my catatonic state:
"It's supposed to be fun".
Often, our riding or training gets to this stage, where all the fun is gone, and we know it's time to change something.
Yesterday I talked about Josh Lyons, the relaxed cowboy, and I think, above anything else, that's what the John Lyons Certification Program did for me - put the fun back into my riding and training.
It had disappeared when things started getting too serious with competing in Singapore and Malaysia and then so much teaching in USA. The trail riding and polo were always fun, showjumping was pretty fun but in the dressage ..... My horse was tense and I felt that I had to 'hold him together' the whole time. Also, does anyone know why German Dressage Instructors feel the need to yell? Honestly, it's a complete mystery to me. Any ideas, do let me know?
With Colorado, came fun. Below is a photo of Josh, on Taz and me on Chaucitta (Singapore Polo Pony), playing 'hat polo'. Josh was winning - Chaucitta had the turns and was agile but he would just sit back and Taz would slide to a stop and Chaucitta and I would gallop by, haha.
Next time, I'll tell you about a great little message John shared with me that I have kept at the forefront of my mind throughout all of my training but in the meantime, don't forget to leave me a comment below.
