There is Always Hope

There is Always Hope

Since I broke my wrist, Ellen has been forced to do things that she might not have otherwise done.  The other day, she had an extraordinary ride--and the most extraordinary thing about it was its complete ordinariness.

She took Dante in the park by herself.  Kevin couldn't make it out to ride with her.  If she wanted to go on the trail, she had to do it by herself, and she did.

I walked with her to the river's edge and sent her on her way while I waited for her; reading a book.

She rode out to the second river, turned around and came back.  The ride consisted of a lot of trotting and very little anxiety.  At the end of it, she confessed that she has more anxiety taking Cole out by herself, (something she has done quite a few times in the last few weeks,) than she did on her solo ride with Dante.

That doesn't give me much to write about.

And it doesn't surprise me.

Dante is a great horse.  He is very quiet, spooks at very little and isn't likely to go dashing off.  He takes care of his rider.

Ellen's anxieties got in the way of truly believing it.

Ellen is also a very skilled rider who rode a far more challenging horse on the trail for many years before she got Dante.  Ranger was a lot of fun, but he wasn't always an easy horse to ride.  He was spirited, spooked at many things and really liked to go fast.  He trained Ellen into the talented rider she is today.

Ellen's anxieties got in the way of believing that, too.

She rode Dante a few times by herself the first summer she had him, but her anxieties got the better of her.  The following spring, she could no longer do it.  It didn't matter at the time.  She still had Ranger to ride in the park by herself.

Each year, she seemed to get a little worse.  Eventually, it was hard for her to stand outside with Dante all by herself--let alone ride him alone.  Just riding him on the driveway was really tough--but she kept pushing herself to do what she could.

She never gave up.  A lot of people would have, but Ellen loves riding and loves riding Dante.  In the last few years, she has gotten better, little by little.  Moving to our new barn seemed to help her a lot because it gave her a new start.  It wasn't long before she was able to ride Dante outside at the barn with no one--not even on foot--to help her.

She became braver on the trail rides--even to the point where she could ride Dante without other horses on the hill if I was walking with her.  This may not seem like much, but it was a really big deal for her.

When Cole cut his foot at the same time that Starry was dealing with a lameness issue, I was able to walk with her on the trail rides.  (It was warm enough for me to walk across the river.)  Once Starry got better, she went out riding with Kevin all the time.  It had been years since she had ridden without me, her security sister.

Then, when I broke my wrist, she was the one who had to ease Cole back into riding.  That was not an easy thing to do!  He had a lot of pent up energy, and it literally took weeks for him to settle down.  She rode him with Kevin and Starry a lot, but quite a few times she had to ride him by herself.  I don't know many people who could have done a better job getting Cole back into work--and I don't know many people who would have been brave enough to do it.  He is a lot of horse.

It only seemed natural for her to eventually get up the nerve to ride Dante alone.  Surely he would be easier than Cole--and he was.  He was a dream horse.

There is always hope if you lose your riding confidence.  It may take a long time, but never give up.  Keep doing what you are able to do, and don't beat yourself up about it.  It happens to people all the time.  Keep moving forward--there is always hope.

Just ask Ellen.