US Equestrian Leading Pony Owner 2022

Good listeners can tune out distractions. They pick up the things said around the barn, in other lessons, between the trainer and the grooms, between the vets and carriers. Good listeners learn to pay attention to what is being said and not being said. This applies to the horses, who don’t talk in words, but have so much to tell us. Good listeners pay attention to how their horse is feeling. They know when he is calm and happy, or nervous and upset.

Bravery is trickier to define. Not everyone is inherently brave. Some people are brave until something goes wrong. Others ride like they are infallible. But to me, bravery is the willingness to keep trying—to keep stretching. To do the hard things even when you think you can’t. To trust the people around you to just do it. You might fail. You might fall. But that is how we grow and learn. It’s ok to be scared, but that fear doesn’t go away by not doing it.