Lessons: Day 5

Bittersweet is the word that best describes today. "Bittersweet" means that something is a little bit sad while being a little bit happy at the same time. Why was today bittersweet? Well, the sad part is that today was my last full day at Anchorage Farm. I only have one lesson left tomorrow morning before I leave. I'm thinking about all the things I will miss here: getting to ride three times each day and all the great teaching and learning that happens during those lessons; waking up each morning to a view of blue sky and mountains through my bedroom window; having fourteen beautiful horses right outside the doorstep of my room; and the peacefulness of Anchorage Farm that I wrote about yesterday. The happy part about today was thinking about all the things I can do now that  I could not do when I arrived on Monday evening.

We had a really bad storm this afternoon, and I was stuck in the viewing area by the indoor arena for about a half an hour waiting for it to stop raining. Kris has posted four words that are important to what she and Jim teach at Centaur Rising. The first word is confidence. As I looked at that word, I thought about how much confidence I gained this week in being about to go get my horse and get it ready to ride. I am also more confident when I am riding my horse and feel like I am a better partner for my horse. The second word is communication. I have learned so much this week about how to communicate with my horse. Not only have I learned the right things to do with my body to communicate with my horse, but I have also learned that if I am not careful, I can send the wrong messages to my horse and he won't understand what I want him to do. Sure, I still mistakes (lots of them), but I have a much better understanding of the right things to do. The third word is compassion. Of all the words, that's the one I didn't have to work on too much this week (you all know how I feel about animals)! However, Kris has taught me that there are many ways that I didn't realize for people to "read" how a horse is feeling, even while you are riding.  So, compassion is more than just "I love and care about horses." It's about reading the horse and understanding how my actions are affecting his body and responses and what I need to do to make him happy. The final word is commitment. Even though we teach very different things, Kris and I are both teachers. We both think that a student needs to take responsibility for learning. Your parents and I ask you to do that all the time, don't we? We can help you along the way, but YOU are the one who has to make the effort. I have had to do the same thing this week, and I will have to continue to do that in Wyoming. Even when things get difficult or frustrating, it is important to be committed to learning so that we can get through the challenges and improve.  It was not an easy week for me; it was a lot of hard work, and there were lots of challenges and frustrations. But in the end, it was totally worth it! I am pleased with what I have accomplished and I am looking forward to the new challenges that are ahead of me this summer (but I do wish I could stay here just a little bit longer!).