A Look Back: Psychology 101 with Linda at the Maryland Horse and Soul Tour

One year ago yesterday, I received a much anticipated phone call from someone at Parelli Central. I had been selected to participate in a demo with Linda Parelli at the Maryland Horse and Soul Tour Stop. The session was called "Psychology 101" in which Linda took four students, each with a horse representing one of the Horsenalities, and showed them how to use Psychology to bring out the best in their horse. Below is a blog post that I had written about my experience as part of the demo which I had not published until now...Enjoy!

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. 

Rydel at the fairgrounds, relaxing after the show!

Like It Or Not, Progress.

In the past few months, a lot of things have changed in both my horsemanship and my life. I spent a lot of time just focusing on my relationship with Rydel and not worrying about having an agenda with her or worrying about how to translate our time together into blog posts. This was all pretty liberating for myself, but probably fairly boring for those of you who do (or did) follow my blog.

During this time off, however, I have been given the opportunity to reflect on my horsemanship journey, and more importantly, my attitude about my journey. First, I took some time to just slow down. In doing so, I learned that my horse has a lot to offer. From meeting me at the gate, to showing me where she wants to be scratched, to attempting to mutually groom with me (ouch!), to bucking and playing and jumping, it has been amazing to watch her grow into herself and open up more and more! This "slow down" period for us was relaxing and incredibly consistent. We ended up doing a lot of the same things everyday, practicing the things we were good at, and avoiding the things we are not. We are both Right Brain Introverts, after all, so it should not come as a surprise when I say we tended to stick within our comfort zone.

While we were progressing with our relationship and having some really great times together, it wasn't until a recent lesson with Parelli Professional, Jane Bartsch that i realized I wasn't being provocative enough. Jane challenged us with some zone 5 driving for our homework and taught us the beginning of long rein driving. I am excited to keep pushing our level of savvy to new heights! (Thanks, Jane!). In other exciting news, a few days after our lesson with Jane, we received word that Rydel and I passed our level 3 online audition! You can view the video Here. I intentionally waited to talk about it because I honestly thought we would fail on our circling game. I know it's not our absolute best, but I am pretty happy with the results.

Also during this time, I decided to apply for a demo spot at the Upper Marlboro, MD Horse and Soul Tour Stop. I wanted to challenge myself and provide some purpose for our play times. I decided to apply for the Psychology 101 demo with Linda, as I believe Rydel is a pretty classic RBI. Well, I finally finished the video, which I am excited to share with you all!. You can view it  on Youtube here!

So, what have I learned during this crazy adventure these last few months? I've learned that the phrase, never ending self improvement is not just a mantra on the days that we feel like it. Instead, we should be actively seeking out progress, in horsemanship and in life. This is not to say that we need to be constantly improving, per say. Maybe "progress" for you at this moment means having the savvy to know when to push yourself and when to take some reflective undemanding time. Whatever your action may be, it is progress as long as you are moving closer toward your goals. We owe it to ourselves and our horses to take an active role in achieving our goals and becoming the horsemen and women we want to be. My call to action for us all is this: Like it or not, progress!

Weekend Of Savvy

This past weekend Evan and I went down to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to volunteer again for the Parelli  Horse and Soul Tour and we had an absolute blast! From the moment we got there we were greeted with open arms from our friends on the Parelli Road Staff. It was so cool to be part of the "inner circle" and I believe wonderfully amazing things are in store (Can't wait to divulge more about it!!) In the meantime, here are some pictures from the weekend.

The first night we all went out to dinner and had a hilarious time trying to hook Liz up with the server! 

Juli Piovesan, Parelli Professional extraordinaire! <3

Carrie (who sold us Evan's horse) showed up with her family!

The girls: Athena, Jill, and me!

Evan sporting the new Parelli Outerwear and showing his support for Breast Cancer Awareness!

Pat demonstrating it's not about the trailer!

We love volunteering!

Blue skies on our ride home. :)

Refreshed.

I've been avoiding writing this blog post because I just don't know how to sort out all of the emotions I've encountered this past weekend. Today though, I am refreshed. It was a weekend of total catharsis.

 For those who are not aware, the Parelli's just came to Columbus with their Horse and Soul Tour and I was lucky enough to be accepted to volunteer. There have been defining moments within my horsemanship journey and I must say that volunteering has been added to the list of those moments. In fact, it positively changed my life. Something totally snapped during those 60 hours of sorting, bagging, lifting, explaining, helping, laughing, clapping, and crying (yes, ending with lots of crying)! During my time as a volunteer I went from a Parelli Student, someone who admired the Parelli's wholeheartedly and strived to follow the program in an attempt to better the world for horses and humans, to a Parelli Team-Member, an insider, someone who is personally invested and affected by the success of the team, someone who strives to achieve that success not just for herself but for the good of the whole. We Are Parelli, I Am Parelli, they are one in the same.

Columbus, Ohio 2012

This experience did not just reaffirm my belief that I made the right decision to not give up and get serious about my relationship with my horse, but it has humbled me. I feel grateful to be a part of a group of individuals who care so passionately about one another, who share the same beliefs about horsemanship, and who have a vested interest in changing the horse-world for the better.

Yes, I realize Emily used this picture but It's just SO perfect! My Girls and Pat!

Furthermore, this weekend I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I gain confidence when I'm around like minded people. I also learned that despite this confidence, I'm still an introvert and I bottle my emotions like crazy- bad emotions, good emotions, it doesn't matter. As a result, I sometimes "blow myself up" and end up a blubbery mess trying to say thank you and goodbye to her beloved Parelli Professionals. :D

All in all, I'm addicted. I love this program. I love these people. And I can't wait to volunteer again in Tennessee!