A quick word on the past year.

I know I know we are already in 2010! Oh well, I wanted to write this anyway LOL.

Here are some of the horse things I did this year:
-attended a focus group with 2* PP Kime Conkright.
-participated in several playdays/get-togethers with the local parelli group.
-took both my partners to the gymkhana.
-took several clinics to learn how to massage, stretch, and exercise my ponies.

2009 was a great year for me in many ways. For one thing my emotional fitness has improved tremendously! Not only my emotion fitness, but also my physical fitness(I learned how to do a back flip this wahoo!!!) and mental fitness(sure am lot better at puzzle-solving LOL). At the start of last year I was terribly emotionally unstable, I tended have "extreme" emotions I couldn't find the middle of the road no matter what; I would always be either very depressed, sad, angry, etc or very happy, exuberant, positive, etc. Through the course of the year my horses have helped me to find a way to deal with these intense feelings. I have learned to prioritize and set some feelings aside so that I can stay positive, progressive, and natural.

Another big step that my partners and I took last year was a step towards a deeper connection with each other. I no longer see Gingy and Marsy as LBI and RBI. Now I know that no other horse/pony is just like them, they are both special in so many ways. This has lead me to become closer to them and I hope they feel the same way. Now it really feels like a "two sided" conversation! Gingy has taught me to know when he is past trying any more or when he is totally in tune. Marsan is teaching to see through her impassive facade to the beautiful horse inside.

Part of the reason my partners and I became closer is because of a couple of tough challenges that we faced last year. For Marsan and I it was saddling and riding. She could never seem to quite make it all the way through the labyrinth of pre-ride-checks! We finally started making some progress with that this year by taking it slow improving our emotional fitness. For Gingy this year's big challenge was and is still in finding the energy button LOL. Last year's big accomplishment with Gingy was realizing that he did have a play drive he just didn't play like a LBE! So now that I know he has a play drive we can start making progress with the energy this year, yay!

Here are some of the things we accomplished together in 2009:
-Marsan and I successfully did all of the pre-ride-checks.
-Marsan and I went trail riding after doing the pre-ride-checks.
-Gingy and I self assessed a level 1.
-Gingy learned a circle pattern.
-I learned how to play like a LBI!
-Marsan is now confident in the trailer.
-I can now calmly deal with my frustration!

Last year was truly a great year of much improvement in every way. Can't wait to see where we go from here!