written by Founder Allison Brunelli

When Rene Vara posts a public journal entry, I stop what I'm doing to read at least the first paragraph. He's got unique, catchy, powerful first paragraphs. However, in his most recent entry titled Encouragement shown below, he did something unique in his second paragraph too -- he embedded a testimonial...

Around this time of year it feels we are almost legally required to reflect, ponder and assess where we are in life, in our riding, in our goals. In horse speak, “Are we moving forward?” We ride our horses forward and encourage their efforts. Some times we have to get after them a little bit to keep the impulsion. There is a life lesson in that idea. Do you know the word ENCOURAGE means “to add to someone’s heart”? Think about that.

I am thankful to Allison Brunelli for encouraging me, an adult amateur, to write about my training and show experiences.  Originally I thought that videotaping my rides and studying them would be plenty. As a visual learner, video helps me see what I feel or don’t feel in the saddle. Looking back on my journals from the past months, I see the benefit of jotting down my thoughts and improving my rides by taking notes.  Anyone that has read my previous entries knows that I really want to be an advocate for the adult amateur. I hope some of you see yourself in my challenges and training sessions. It has always been my goal to help amateurs find a common ground of experience and to be more supportive of each other in our schooling and showing.

read more...