Life lessons from riding
Article by Annie, BBSH student
I first began riding nine years ago this summer, and throughout the years, I have learned so much about not only horses, but also myself. While other activities have also helped me grow as a person, it is riding that has taught me the most life lessons, and that provokes perhaps the purest love I have known so far in my life. In addition to the people skills I have developed, the barn has also helped me become more self-reliant.
One of the things I love most about the barn is how many practical applications I have found for the skills I have gained here. Over the past nine years, working at the barn has encouraged me to become more self-assured and independent, qualities I have also taken into other aspects of my life.
My mom says she knew the barn would become an important part of my life because it was the first activity, as a child, that I actually walked away from her willingly, eager to begin. Throughout my past nine years at the barn, it has always been a place where I feel comfortable, more in my element and willing to take charge, compared to the rest of my life.
Additionally, the barn has provided me with skills that will become increasingly useful as I get older, such as being able to put out the “small fires” that arise in everyday life. In this manner, the barn reminds me to stay calm even in stressful situations and to meet each challenge as it arrives.
In a different aspect, the barn has also provided me with wonderful people who I am so grateful to have in my life. I met one of my closest friends, Wren, riding and it is a relationship that I treasure. Being able to spend all summer and each Saturday working with them has been an opportunity for which I am so appreciative. Wren and I are both twins, but I must admit they finish my sentences more times than my actual twin ever has.
I am also so grateful for all that I have learned through working with the instructors, as they have taught me countless lessons and encouraged me when I became frustrated or flustered. Their patience and dedication has meant so much to me.
In addition, it has been such a joy for me to meet a variety of riders throughout my years at the barn. It is always a wonderful feeling when I see another person enjoying what I love so much. Even when I am hot and tired, seeing the joy someone else is also receiving from horseback riding makes all the sweat and hard work worth it.
Another aspect of working at the barn I love is the unique relationship I develop with each horse. These relationships allow me to form bonds unlike any other, mainly because the horses cannot express themselves in the same way as humans, and thus you learn to interact in a different manner. Nevertheless, the love I have for them is strong because of the comfort I find in them, knowing that there are certain aspects of them I do not find anywhere else.
When the rest of my world gets quite busy and stressful, the horses provide a nice escape where I can leave behind many of my worries. During the past nine years, the barn has been an essential part of my life, with the relationships I have built with horses, instructors, and other riders, becoming central to my life.