I wouldn’t normally consider myself
to be a very spontaneous person, however my recent confidence with my horse,
Rydel, led me to throw caution to the wind, step out of my comfort zone, and
apply for a chance to participate in the 2013 Horse and Soul Tour stop in Upper
Marlboro, Maryland. While I had the opportunity to choose from an array of
different demonstrations or lessons with Pat and Linda, there seemed to be only
one obvious choice for my horse and me: Horsenality 101 with Linda.
I have had my horse for nine years.
Several months before purchasing her, my 4-H group had received free tickets to
a Parelli Tour Stop. After
watching Pat and Linda from the stands, I was instantly hooked. I convinced my
parents to purchase the level one pack and watched and studied as much as I
could until I finally got a horse of my own. From the day I brought Rydel home,
I began putting the Parelli principles I had learned in that level 1 pack to purpose
and I truly believe it was this prior knowledge that kept me safe around what I
later learned to be a very right brained horse. Everyday, I would go out to
play the seven games with my horse, but something seemed to be missing. When I
would ask her to back up, for example, she would freeze, and when I increased
my phases and added more pressure, rather than responding appropriately, she
would absolutely explode! We struggled on like this for a few years, and just
when I was about to give up, the concept of Horsenality was introduced, and my
whole world changed! Suddenly, I had arrows in my quiver to deal with my very
extreme Right Brain Introvert, and the amount of progress we made in such a
short period of time amazes me even to this day.
Having impacted the relationship
with my horse in such a dramatic way, it is easy to see why getting a chance to
demonstrate Horsenality was so important to me, and when I received the call
that Rydel and I would be in the show, I was ecstatic that everything was
coming full circle. When the big weekend finally arrived, I was so concerned
with making sure my horse was ready for the show, and so focused on being able
to demonstrate how truly wonderful these Right Brain horses can be, that I
wasn’t taking a step back to focus on myself. The day of the show the lack of self-focus
hit me like a ton of bricks and I began feeling uncontrollably nauseous. As I
groomed and prepared my horse for our big debut, it took every ounce of energy
I had to not collapse from the amount of retching my stomach was doing. Every
deep breath I took, and every attempt I made to talk myself into walking into
that arena seemed futile as I slipped more and more into a state of panic. Finally, after no longer being able to
hide my emotions, I burst into tears in a small room behind the retail booth and
received some much needed mental coaching (read: friendly game of the mind).
At what seemed like the very last
minute, I composed myself and Rydel and I walked into the arena with Linda
Parelli and the other horses and humans who would be represented in the demo. In
the ring, my worries melted away and I was able to just have fun with my horse.
Linda took each horse in turn to demonstrate each Horsenality to the crowd.
Rydel was the perfect example of an extreme Right Brain Introvert and Linda
talked about and demonstrated the importance of managing your energy when
playing with these types of horses. Ladies and gentlemen, cue the licking and
chewing!
Principle number seven states that “horses
teach humans” and this tour stop was a great reminder of that principle for me.
When I submitted my application to be a part of a demonstration on Horsenality,
I assumed I would learn a lot about my horse. In reality, being a part of a
demonstration on Horsenality helped me learn a great deal more about my own
personality than I ever would have imagined! Because of this experience, I now
feel more equipped to deal with my own emotions, especially in new or stressful
environments, and to be the leader my horse needs me to be all the time, even if when means admitting my limitations and
seeking out support. I am so grateful to have a horse that teaches me something
new at just the right moments, and I am even more grateful to have the support
of the Parelli community to lean on when it’s me who needs a lesson in becoming
calm, cool, and collected.
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| Rydel at the fairgrounds, relaxing after the show! |
