The Journey 

  Horsemanship is a journey. A road that some of us choose to travel..  Given the opportunity to pursue other things in life we decline and continue with our first love of the horse and horsemanship despite the hardships that our choice can bring.  It also brings with it much pleasure  and satisfaction in developing this relationship with the horse and learning more along the way. 

  Horsemanship is not just about riding and going to horse shows, getting that ribbon to hang on the wall..  It is about the relationship that develops between horse and human. It is the development of a language between you and your equine partner that continues to grow and progress with each year. 

When I was younger and interested in showing, the show seemed to be the goal and the ribbon the reward but as I have gotten older I can take more pleasure and satisfaction from the horse learning something and doing something well that we have been playing with for a time.  It is an internal happiness that comes without a ribbon or an award and I may be the only one who even knows it happened. That's okay, I find that every time I play with my horses there is always something to look forward to for the next session. I can take pleasure in small things that I may have not even noticed 10 years ago. 


The more my horsemanship grows the more I want it to grow and the more I see there is still to learn.  So as I say, Horsemanship is a never ending journey that brings much pleasure and even pain at times but that some of us won't trade for many other of life's adventures.