I find that I often get so caught up in my goals and ambitions that I forget to actually enjoy riding. Horse riding is, in fact, pretty fun. Yet, getting so caught up in perfection can really suck the life out of the sport. A bad ride becomes the end of the world. A head toss is absolutely devastating. Sounds pretty dramatic right? But admit it, we all have experienced this!

Owning a difficult horse for the past few years has really humbled me, and forced me to let go of my need for perfection. And you know what? Riding has become so much more fun since I have. I may have put many of my goals on hold, but what is the point of even riding if I am not enjoying it? In spite of all of his issues, Chance is a lot of fun to ride. Even the wild days can be a bit of a thrill when I am not so caught up in needing everything to be perfect. Horses do not always cooperate with our plans. They act up, get hurt, get sick, or just don’t want to do what we want them to. Or maybe they do want to do what we want, just at a much slower pace than we had planned.

Lately, rather than always thinking ahead about all that I hope to accomplish in the future, I am learning to simply enjoy the present moment with my horse. I am taking things one ride at a time, and just enjoying him. I am learning to laugh when things don’t go my way, and not taking everything so seriously all the time. I am just having fun with my horse right now, and you know what? He is going around better than he ever has.