![]() But it was happening so fast, and I was sliding further off-center. I was hanging on with everything I had and trying to figure out how to pull back on the reigns to slow her down. For a short time as we were galloping along, I thought I might be able to hoist myself back up into the saddle. I was thrown to the right and lost my left stirrup. What was I supposed to do? I remember being told to put my feet forward and flex them so if she went down I might project forward and land on my feet rather than my head. So there we were, running on the path and I felt her stumble. Feeding her a few carrots as the ranch hands saddled her up is not the same as if I had been able to share a few laughs over a beer, or at the very least, discuss the weather. I can’t think of another experience in which my wellbeing has been in the hands (or hooves) of a living, breathing being with whom I can’t even have a basic conversation. I am not sure I really grasped that until I was in the saddle doing it. This would be a good place to acknowledge that there is a tremendous amount of trust required to get on the back of a horse and ask it to gallop away. I stood up and pressed my heels into her ribs. Again, Cherokee and I watched our friends disappear in front of us. When we reached a straightaway, we decided to run some more. ![]() It’s beautiful, even on a grey morning threatening rain, as it was yesterday. It winds around behind “horse properties” and through some commercial stables. Palos Verdes has a bridle path covered in mulch. We caught David and Twister and took a breath. This time, when Cherokee took it from canter to gallop, it was smooth and graceful. With my very limited experience, I am very comfortable walking and trotting, but as soon as we start cantering, I become conscious of every nuance of the motion and how my body feels in that moment, making sure I stay balanced. Standing in the stirrups, your lower body must be engaged as if it is part of the horse, providing an independent suspension system. One of the things I have learned is that you have to hug the horse with your legs. It was faster than I had ever ridden and it was magical. We got a good pace going, but when she lost sight of the others, she broke into a full gallop. Recognizing we were falling far behind, she decided she’d better catch up and she picked up her feet. Cherokee was reluctant to go and being inexperienced, I didn’t force her. After a little warm up, David took off and I followed. We were riding horses that we often ride he was on Twister and I was on Cherokee. We often ride with our kids and take it easy, trotting with an occasional canter if one of the horses decides to cut loose. He is English and a retired polo player as well. I was alone with David, who has been on horses his whole life. It was about the ninth or tenth time I’d been riding. Though I have slammed my body against the mountain numerous times by “catching an edge,” what happened yesterday morning was far different. In my 40s so far, skiing and horseback riding. In my 30s, I started snowboarding and kayaking. ![]() My parents could not have been more loving and supportive, but they did not push the sports. His Scandinavian stoicism allows him to endure root canals without anesthesia and shovel snow in little more than a T-shirt, but somehow that didn’t make its way into his workout ethic. ![]() My father is a tenderhearted, philosophical Norwegian. My mother is a classic New York Jew who believes if you perspire, you are working too hard and should immediately return to the air-conditioned salon to dine on chopped chicken liver and cucumber sandwiches while reading a good book. I was raised by intellectual, artist-types. I danced from the age of three-ballet, modern, and tap. I was never what you would call an athletic kid. Let’s just say that it was short-lived and ended with the horse running back to the stable after nibbling my feet. Until recently, I had had a single experience on a horse when I was 17 on a camping trip in upstate New York with my high school boyfriend. In the last several months, I’ve taken up horseback riding. It serves not only as evidence of my own progress, but as a reminder of the value of resilience. This is especially true with regard to healing after a break-up. But every once in a while it is helpful to look back, to acknowledge growth and expansion. We know that living in the past limits our potential and worrying about the future inhibits our behavior. We hear from many sources from Ram Dass with his seminal Be Here Now, to Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now about being present in the moment.īy now, we are well-versed in the benefits of mindfulness and the awareness of what is right in front of us. ![]()
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