While I didn't have the horse bug as a little girl, fast forward some years to a teenager who is jumping horses, albeit not very well. Fast forward to college to the almost-adult who's realizing that jumping takes some work and a cooperative horse, but it is fun. At this point, there's not much the girl will not do in the capacity she has as a rider.
Then go another 10 years. Now you have me. In these last 10 years I've had some bumps and bruises and I now know just how breakable I really am. I've gone from that courageous girl who'd ride any horse, come off said horse, laugh it off, and jump right back on, to a chicken shit rider who herself spooked every time her own horse so much as twitched differently. In the last 6 months, however, the chicken shit rider (me) has been replaced by “Olga” - the confident rider who really does know what the heck she's doing and is ready to conquer the world! Well, maybe not the world, but most definitely my horse in my own little world.
I cannot say how proud of myself I am these last few months riding. I've taken a turn for the better. I finally BELIEVED in myself and in my horse. My instructor uses the Olga name to bring out my confidence. Everyone knows that the name Olga suggests a strong, confident woman. In the horse world, we also tend to think of a rider who knows her stuff and knows she knows it. Riding is a lot of training, some natural talent, a dash of luck, and tons of confidence. “Know it” is a phrase I hear every lesson.
So, finally, after two years of training on the flat, Sniper and I are ready to start our official jumping career! Here's our 'before' shots – hopefully by next spring we will have some awesome 'during' shots as we increase our jumping knowledge and training repertoire.
And away we go...!
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