Lisa's Blog post # 38

Hey!  Remember me?  I’m back!! 

It took Cotton a total of three weeks to fully recover from his raucous in the pasture. I only rode 6 days during the entire month of September!  Not only was Cotton lame but I helped two of my family members go though a total of three surgeries in two different states.  We spent a day in the ER, we had an out of town family wedding, we went to visit one of my sons in college and we re-did our kitchen.  The only “riding” I did was in my car but I did not let it go to waste.  As I took the turns on the road I practiced weighting my seat bones to the inside rather than let centrifugal force throw me to the outside.  I think I resolved my collapsed hip issue once and for all!

Lesley and I planned a lesson late in the week so Cotton and I could get back in the swing of things after our long break.  I told her I was determined to have a jumping lesson and go over real jumps that day!  Little did I suspect that my first week back would be such an emotional roller coaster– I actually teared up twice this past week – and I am not an emotional person! 

My first two rides after our unplanned sabbatical were complete failures.  Cotton was swapping leads, hopping, bucking, veering off in various directions – I was back to square one, pre-bubble bit!  Had all my hard work gone down the drain?!   We were going nowhere, fast – but the tears came when I realized that it was my confidence that was flailing.  Cotton has been the only horse I’ve ever had this much trouble riding – and he was my horse!  Time to think of Plan B.  Lesley and I talked about how Cotton needed more consistent exercise than I was giving him.  If I couldn’t find someone to help me keep him fit and work on his training, I was going to have to find a way to ride him more often… 

I had a choice to make, I could give up trying to compete and just resign myself to being a pleasure rider or I could try to steer Cotton over some jumps on Friday even though steering him on the flat that day had been like trying to heard cats.  Clearly, God had given me this horse to ride – but why?  So far all of my reasons for wanting a horse like Cotton were not being realized.  Was I shooting at the wrong target?

The next morning I read something that put it all in perspective for me… we can be glad for our difficulties because they “bring about perseverance and perseverance brings about character and character, hope.”  The purpose of my riding was not so I could become a better rider; the purpose of my riding was so God could make me a better person.  For me to give up on becoming a better rider would be the same as giving up on becoming a better person - and God could use these difficulties to accomplish both.

I am a slow learner, but I am a determined one!  With my new “target” in sight, I re-read some of Lesley’s articles that pertained to my situation and remembered that the key to my success with Cotton was to remain relaxed, loose and moving forward.  It might not be pretty but my resolve to jump on Friday was set...