Merry Christmas!!!
now i'll be the first to admit i am the biggest christmas grinch this year. i am just not overly enthused by the whole idea of not being able to ride for a week because of shopping for other people.
But i'm going to put all that aside, and hope that next year will be even better!! which reminds me i need some new goals for next year :)
But today on Christmas Eve i want to talk about India.
And she has been there, when my parents separated, when we sold the farm, when my grandfather died, when i was so depressed that i came home from school everyday and cried, I always knew i could go to the barn and see my baby.
It wasn't always easy, and i didn't always love her this much. For the first couple years together i would never admit it but i was scared of her. She liked to bolt and me being only about 50 pounds there was no way i was stopping her. All my lessons focused on keeping her in the arena, let me tell you i developed quite a survival seat!!
Every time we went to a Mary Wanless clinic everyone would always turn out for my lesson, probably because it was so painful to watch.
The change really happened when we put her in a kimberwick, that shiny piece of metal gave me confidence. I remember one judge at a show had to come see me try and ride without the kimberwick to see if i could ride without it at the show, she agreed with us, i needed the kimberwick.
One day i realized i didn't need it, i could control her on my own. As she got more sensitive i got more confidence. However it took me a while to realize that she wasn't the same horse she had been. as my mom put it "stop riding like a damn Nazis!!!"
Once i figured that out and learned to be soft, Indie really gave me more.
I still haven't discovered all she can do, she's always surprising me, like the other day when i took her over some ground poles, she passaged right through. Don't ask me why but she did and I'm sure we couldn't do it on purpose.
The progress we have made makes me so proud of her, and wonder what the hell i was thinking. The fix for all the problems we've had seem so simple now, why didn't i just do that before?? But hindsight is 20/20.
So to finish off..
India, i love you so much, every time i see you its like my chest fills up to the point of exploding.
I promise to always try my best for you.
I love you Boo.
1 comment:
That was such a sweet, sweet post about your pony. I have been scrolling through your old posts and just came across this one. I think it is so neat that you stuck with Indie through the bolting and other issues and decided to never give up on her. Horses know when they have a "rider" and they know when they have a "partner." You and Indie make great partners and it is easy to tell you are best buds. My little fellows give me their all, and they make me so very proud for how hard they try for me. We have so far to go, and I feel like a beginner all the time, but Scout and I are making progress, little by little. He is a great little fellow and hopefully one day I can enter him in some little schooling shows and just have fun with him. In the meantime, I am thoroughly enjoying being back in the saddle on a regular basis.
Keep up the determination and stick by your pony through thick and thin. Look at where you guys have come from and be very proud of both of you.
I love reading your blog. You are wise beyond your years and I am always impressed at your knowledge at such a young age. You are also a great writer!! You are going to make it far!!
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