As per usual, upon arrival Parelli required my flexibility and teamsmanship as the team had a demo Saturday for a local pony club, and they were hoping that in Neil's absence I could be the Emcee! I jumped on board and loved watching the team prepare for their demo. Last night I had a great brainstorm with Neil and I was excited to get to share with the future of horsemanship .... Natural horsemanship! Unfortunately... Upon arriving to the show I could tell that my body had a different plan, as my breathing began to get shallow, my stomach cramping, and my vision blurry.... I sat down, did some trauma breathing, and a few other techniques I have been shown to control my anxiety. It helped a little, but as the demo grew closer I could feel I wasn't gonna win this one :(. Luckily, as I handed off the mic to Carmen, who did a stellar presentation, I felt fully supported and cared for, and I couldn't have been happier to once again realize how important it is to surround yourself with like minded people!
I watched from the sideline as the team put on a beautiful presentation of the value of Parelli, and the first three Savvys, to a young and very enthusiasutic crowd!
After the presentation, we then all got the opportunity to watch the leading Australian Eventer, Shane Rose, teaching all the pony club kids!! It was beautiful to hear him sharing awesome tid bits like, "when your horse gets upset, and then we pull on the reins, they just get more upset." And when horses went to get a little playful, "rub him and ride him more forward, give him a place to go!" He helped the kids over small logs first, then banks, and then the water! Included are some pictures is Shane and all the kids!
Hi Lillan,
ReplyDeleteThank for sharing your experiences.
Sometime we see people in various situations and positions and are unaware of how uncomfortable they are feeling as they grow their comfort zone. I know it can be hard to leave that zone sometimes but through the Parelli Program we want to challenge this and be the best me we can be. The area between feeling comfortable and in that learning area but not fall off the cliff into the wilderness can be broad for some and so narrow at times.
I'm sure some of the horses too felt their comfort zone challenged with the obstacles on the x-country course. Great to hear what Shane shared with the kids too.
Thank you for sharing. See you at the end of the week where I too will be well out of my comfort zone. Ahhh!
Angela.