Did Ya'll Miss Me?

Well don't worry, I was thinking about you all weekend. About what an awesome post that this was going to make. Because that much happened. In fact, I'm going to have to break it up into a few posts.

So, first things first, where the hell were you that you had that much fun?


My mother and I have been going to this expo for 7 years, since I was 12. It is our annual mother/daughter weekend, and I look forward to it more than any other weekend of the year.

You ride horses? I didn't know that you were one of those girls.

Meet my baby, Seuss. No, unfortunately I do not own him, but I wish. I really do.













I ride at college, and hope to make a life of it. Not showing, just owning and loving horses. More on that later.









So, what exactly is this Expo that you speak so highly of?

Dig, if you will, a picture. (Brownie Points for whoever recognizes that line!)

Imagine a building about the size of an Airplane Hanger. Stick a dirt arena in the middle, bleachers on all four sides. Now, fill the rest with vendors of the equine variety. Think tack shops (both English and Western), feed suppliers, show attire stands, custom-built barns, trailers galore, flashy western belts and buckles, hardcore Alligator Skin Cowboy boots. You name it, it's there.

My mom found herself some lovely jewelry from her favorite shop, I got a pair of Muck Boots (for those cold, snowy days!), and we ogled saddles we can never afford and bridles we wish we had use for. But the vendors, they are not even the main attraction.

Remember that arena I mentioned? Well, there are two of them. One in each building. And apart from those, there are two completely separate seminar halls. Four venues. Four days. Four different things going on at once. Yes. There were approximately 160 different clinics, seminars, parades, and demonstrations over the course of this weekend, and I had to pick and choose what I could see!

I sat in on Steuart Pittman's Eventing Clinic, and listened up later as he spoke about the different positions used in each phase.

Phillip Dutton on Connaught during the three different phases of Eventing: Dressage, Show Jumping, and Cross Country

My mother particularly enjoyed watching the Sidesaddle demonstrations, as well as the talks on carriage driving - she figures that even though her arthritis keeps her from riding, she could learn to drive a carriage one day.

But the treat of the weekend was Caroline Rider. Oh wow was I impressed. I was able to attend one of her liberty training sessions. There were so many people there - so many distractions. And her two horses were on no leads, had no halter, how could she control them? But they never once took their attention away from Caroline. They loved and trusted her that much. She asked them to come, they came. She opened the way to a jump, and they jumped. She indicated that she wished to mount them, and they made their way over to the mounting block. I have never seen such absolute devotion from a horse.

Promptly after the third of her clinics that we watched, my mother bought me her training DVD as a Christmas present.

Caroline Rider with her horses, Legend and Shadow

If there is one lesson that I always walk away from this Expo with, it is that, honestly, it doesn't matter what kind of a rider you are. Whether you are sitting in an English Saddle, a Western one, or even a Sidesaddle, the concepts are still the same. And yes, I understand that there is a difference between that silly Equitation thing (it doesn't matter what the horse does, just look pretty!) and reining, but that's not what I'm talking about. I mean the connection.

It's about that sense of oneness that you feel when you truly trust a horse. And when that horse trusts you. For example. Seuss. That adorable Appaloosa Gelding that doesn't know what he's doing, but he's going to try! We both have trust issues, but we're working through them, together.

And, of course, things like this take time. But we're progressing. And no matter how slow, progression is progression. My silly little jumping pony now trusts me to the point where I can walk in his stall with a big scary blanket. Instead of bolting, he just freezes. Soon, I hope, he won't even take notice. Because he knows that I would never bring in anything to harm him.

But what about my trust issues? How are those coming along? Think about it for a second - would you trust a half-ton beast with the ability to, at any unknown instant, rear up and throw you into a mirror, shattering the glass and shredding you to ribbons? I've seen it happen. It takes a lot to get someone completely comfortable on a horse. But once you get there - once you get past the petty worrying, magic occurs.

I realize, now, that on Seuss I no longer have to keep my eyes out for potential dangers - for I know that while he is aware of them, he is past the point where he must stop and look at every single spider-web. Now I can focus on what is best for the both of us - where my hands should be so that I can tell him what I need without being a bother on his mouth - where my legs should signal to best tell him which transition I am asking for. Now I can relax and melt into him, so that we move as a unit - so that we are connected.

For a bond, of any kind, is beautiful

And I will leave it at that, for now. I have more to tell you all, but this post is long enough. Expect my life plan - it's filled with horses! - to be included in my next chapter.

Cheers,
Amy Plunk!