An old article hits home - and we are back in the left lane

It seems equine magazines are going the way of most newspapers and magazines - short articles with not much depth but lots of colorful pictures (often of riders with bad positions) and an overload of advertisements. I still keep remembrances of the "good old times" when equine magazines actually had 'meaty' (= in depth) articles, written by professionals with profound academic knowledge, showed excellent B&W photos, and had almost no advertising. Not surprisingly "Dressage & CT*" ("Dressage, Eventing and the Sport Horse") did not survive in this fast paced world.

I have some D&CTs dating back to the 90s, and from time to time I browse through them (after having had to vigorously defend them from JP and the ever present recycling bins). One article I recently read hit home: Joni Bentley's "Riding Success Without Stress". In the article she questions "We ask of our horses that they be calm, straight, and forward - but are we?"

Obviously, 'Ouch' (=nail hitting the head) for me: Calm I was not, and I limited the forward for fear of being thrown. So I had basically asked of Remy to fill in for me, which undermined my job as the leader and he said "sorry, lady, don't think so".

Not surprisingly, our relationship and work together have improved tremendously since the major stressor were removed (mainly my previous job and the arena allergies).

In Joni Bentley's article she explains that being calm involves a harmonious balance of mind, body and feelings. To achieve this harmony, a quiet mind, a supple body, and an awareness of our emotional conditioning is needed. If we are "uptight" mentally and emotionally (guilty as charged!) it reflects in and distorts our bodies. Without calmness, we lose communication with the horse, we lose control of ourselves and our riding position "goes to pot".

She goes on to say that Quantum physicists are in agreement that mind and body are inseparably one. Therefore, successful teaching and learning depend on this unity. Training that only focuses on correcting the position is like a six cylinder car firing on only five cylinders. You'll never make the fast lane, because the root of all tension lies in the mind.

As my mind is much calmer (yes, that's my story and I stick to it) Remy and I are back on the autobahn, far left lane, flashing the head lights to get the others to move over!

*Thank you, Ivan I. Bezugloff Jr, staff  and editors for having published this fine magazine.