Memoirs of a Riding Instructor

I have to laugh.... Every vacation I go on with my Mother, we end up going on a trail ride. I haven't quite figured out why she is so insistent that we go on these trail rides because she doesn't really ride when we are home, but every trip she insists that we rent horses and go on a trail ride. Now don't get me wrong, those trail rides are great and you get to see a lot of great scenery that you might not get to see any other way, but I ride almost everyday. So to me a vacation usually does not include riding. My mom and I were on a vacation in Arizona, having a great time and she wanted to go on a trail ride. So off we go to the trail ride stables. At this point I'm thinking about how I am usually riding with the reins over the horn, with both hands on the camera, turning backwards to get lots of pictures of my mom on her trail ride. Those trail horses know there job very well and steering is really not always necessary. I am also trying to remind myself how m...

I have been asked what my New Year's Resolution would be for 2015 and I have decided that I want something bigger than a New Year's Resolution. Something that is not going to be lost, broken or forgotten easily and dismissed as another broken resolution. I want a statement of  transformation that inspires me and those around me. So I have decided that I would like to create the possibility of being "Brilliant!" I would like to be "brilliant" by shining inside and out with joy, happiness, courage, confidence, love and inspire others to "be brilliant". This takes commitment. Everyday I must ask myself what would brilliant look like? What would a person who is being brilliant do in this situation. How can I inspire the people I am going to interact with today? How can I make them feel enlightened and inspired? I not only want to inspire my students to be brilliant, but inspire them to inspire their horses. I want them to ride with the vision o...