CONNECTION - A MAN WITH AN ACCENT

Photo used with permission
www.flatlandfotos.com

Sometimes I wonder, what would Sugar be like today if she was owned by a professional... or a very talented 20 something?  She is so god-awful talented, athletic and of course beautiful... I do a good job with her but, I am a solid amateur rider - busy with a full-time, stressful career, middle aged and oddly brave with some things and a complete weeny in others.  I do wonder sometimes...



Yesterday I had a dressage lesson with a Man-With-An-Accent (MWAA) - the fabulous Niall Quirk.  There is something about a MWAA (or perhaps just Niall) that takes what is just ordinary and makes it Extraordinary!  Although, we worked on improving what we had, I felt that anything was possible (Spanish Riding School - watch out) and Sugar was right with me.

It's all about Connection.  Ok, you Dressage folks are saying, "DUH!  Of course its about connection, do you not read or listen to anything dressage related.  SIGH, you Eventers are sooooo backwoods..."    Yeah, I do know about Connection and I read/watch so many things about it that I probably could quote a few legends on the matter.   (Although not a parties, people frown on that..)

I'm not talking about the front to back, or the inside leg to outside hand or even hand to mouth (yes, I admit to using that "tool" sometime too).  I'm talking about that moment when horse, rider and instructor connect and every limitation, every ounce of self doubt and every fear slip away and the air is filled with realities and possibilities...  the crossover from ordinary to Extraordinary.

Sugar came into the lesson full of fire and brilliant energy.  This is the horse who makes me feel like a million bucks riding her.  All the fears I had of her being NQR  (not quite right), lame or broken were gone the second I moved away the mounting block. 

Ahhhhh...  this power and energy is fantastic to feel but can turn into an amazing display of naughtiness at any point... a professional would be able to channel that energy 99% of the time, a talented 20 something would laugh with her behavior and for me...  it's a toss up between - dueling angry mares, settling for trot truces, giving up in self derision or channeling it into something nice.



Photo taken by Lacey Odgen at the clinic with iPhone

Niall is a gifted clinician.  He has an amazing "can-do" attitude and his ability to direct our energy and our body is done simply and effectively.  No two lessons are the same and I leave with tools that keep what was taught moving forward.  My only regret was that he was here for just one day.  A girl is left with just a dream on what Day 2 with a MWAA would be like.

Oh yeah... Connection!  Of course, you silly Dressage folk, besides the mystical feeling of connecting with one's horse,  I did mean the amazing feel in your hands and under your seat true Connection.  Sugar may not have the big, wiggling body of a pure dressage horse but when her body gives, the tension releases and she relaxes into your hands... what happens is Extraordinary!

Sometimes I do wonder...  but I don't think Sugar ever does...

PERSPECTIVE! GOTTA BELIEVE

So I'm sitting here after another long day at work and feeling the sadness colored with a tinge of loneliness that often happens when I find myself swimming in the sea of workaholism.  And yes, this state of being is coupled with that ugliness called self pity.

A Wise Woman once said that your state of being is all about perspective and how one directs their energy.  Look for what you need and focus on what is good and it will come...

Photo used with permission www.flatlandfotos.om

Watch this video...  I did as my mood darkened.  I'll tell you this...  I will never again here this song without seeing those kids again.  It took a very catchy song and brought it to life.  Yeah, life seems very unsettled right now and work pulls at me every waking minute... but, my struggles are nothing compared to the real life battles those kids face. 

Another song for my Cross Country playlist!  Another piece of inspiration on or off Sugar's back.  Look out world here I come!

"Roar"

 

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath

Scared to rock the boat and make a mess

So I sat quietly, agreed politely

I guess that I forgot I had a choice

I let you push me past the breaking point

I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)

Already brushing off the dust

You hear my voice, you hear that sound

Like thunder gonna shake the ground

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)

Get ready cause I’ve had enough

I see it all, I see it now

[Chorus]

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire

Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

Louder, louder than a lion

Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

You’re gonna hear me roar

Now I’m floating like a butterfly

Stinging like a bee I earned my stripes

I went from zero, to my own hero

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)

Already brushing off the dust

You hear my voice, you hear that sound

Like thunder gonna shake the ground

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)

Get ready ’cause I’ve had enough

I see it all, I see it now

[Chorus]

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire

‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

Louder, louder than a lion

‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

You’re gonna hear me roar

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

You'll hear me roar

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

You're gonna hear me roar...

Ro-oar, ro-oar, ro-oar, ro-oar, ro-oar

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire

‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

Louder, louder than a lion

‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

You’re gonna hear me roar

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

You'll hear me roar

Oh oh oh oh oh oh

You're gonna hear me roar...

TONIGHT WAS THAT NIGHT!

Used with permission
 (www.flatlandsfoto.com)

Tonight was that night!

 It's funny sitting here in my chair still thinking about how good my ride was tonight...  we did not perfect the uphill canter or astound the lesson kids with an amazing trot big with suspension...  No, we did not do any of that!

What I had was a clear head, a willing horse, a grateful heart and a connection with another living body that made us one.  It was not brilliant and it's beauty may not have been beholden by anyone but me as a rider.  You see, our ride was filled with life and the joy of being together.

Was this feeling brought on by the Starbucks Latte Grande that graced my lips just a few hours before?  Or could it have been the result of a mind at rest, a mind that left work, at work or perhaps a combination of the two?  I say... it was the mind and not the caffeine.

Work has been incredibly hard and the expectations from the management team are extraordinary.  When you couple that with the stress of showing and add a busy social (right, not dating just running about and doing stuff), I may have gotten a bit... um... distracted and maybe, forgot the joy of having a partnership.

Used with permission
(www.flatlandsfoto.com)

Tonight was that night that Sugar and I worked together, in harmony!  And, like a couple who had been drifting apart, our moments together had purpose but lacked joy... The loss of that joy was simply a mind that either would not or could not rest!

I am tired, really, really tired (actually head bobbing tired)... I left the barn tonight with a smile in my heart.  Sugar is truly a unique gift and I am sooo lucky to have the opportunity to enjoy that gift!  Lucky, Lucky me!

Tonight was that night!