Chance is not an easy horse, by any means; he is one of the most difficult horses I have ever ridden. There have been times that he has truly scared me. For so long, I would have constant flashbacks of those frightful experiences. Fear has no place on horseback. It makes things worse because horses can feel it too. But how do you shut off fear?

I have found that you don’t. You must simply learn to ride through it.

I still do not completely trust Chance, but I am learning to ride him with that little bit of fear. I am learning to trust myself; that I can handle anything he throws at me. I am learning to control my emotions while riding, rather than get frustrated when things don’t go perfectly. If I focus on accuracy, and riding to the best of my ability, he is actually pretty damn good.

The past couple of weeks, I have discovered that I am finally learning to ride with a little bit of fear and mistrust – without letting it affect my horse. For so long, I tried not to feel it. I tried to be braver and bolder. But I can’t just force myself to be that way, it is unrealistic. I will probably never be a fearless rider, but is anyone truly fearless? Learning to ride through my fear is what I consider to be one of my greatest accomplishments as a rider, thus far.

And I know that I still have a way to go, but I must simply keep riding through it.