Spring steps

My body sinks and melts down into the couch, weary and sore but only equal to my brain. I reached saturation point somewhere between pirouettes and passage. Luckily the excitement gave me an energy rush and my body held together with just a joy glorious thrill of steps that grew quietly bigger and bigger and reached somewhere beyond my dreams. Rex spent the week excelling in school again with myself and my trainer and each day brought new work, new challenges and new rewards as well. Lessons gave way to something I can only describe as tranquility within my body and brain. An instant where I was able to put every segment of training and knowledge into practice and guide Rex towards absolute balance. With short spells only in the saddle twice a day we were able to ask a little more of him and he rose to meet us every step of the way. Passage and piaffe were the order of the week and it’s always surprises me how these movements blossom out of consistent training and repetition. It shouldn’t but it does. Something I yammer on about to clients, friends and anyone who will listen is that correct repetition is essential in their horses training.
The feeling of it all coming together is enough to sustain me when times are tiring and replaces the coffee my body is desiring, thankfully because the house now comes with the precaution of only having decaf in it. The new year resolution bully has come to visit early and I resolved not to break down and inhale the contents of a coffee bag while we had our training week which is usually the order of the day. I managed to find time to ride, have lessons, organize a yard and still get to the gym which seems obsessive but allows me to vent all disgruntlements on a dumbbell instead of on some poor unsuspecting soul who mentions the wrong thing at the wrong time. A new improved “clean” diet is underway and the gym now stocks coconut water, finally water with a tasty zing so I have no excuses to be eternally dehydrated. Someone near and dear also got an extraordinarily monstrous blender for Christmas which means tasty protein shakes instead of stodgy stuck to the bottom of the glass flavoured ones. He also stockpiled my favourite peanut butter in the larder so there’s no excuse to not start piling on the pounds in the right way and that doesn’t include the boxes and boxes of chocolate we had under the tree this Christmas. A fresh routine in the gym has knocked the urge to sit and stare in boredom while doing the same old exercises sideways out of me. To the point where I’ve had to look up some of the new exercises and try them out when no one’s about so I have some credibility left on the gym floor. I’ve also discovered the TRX suspension training system for core strength. It’s perfect If I’m to sit still as my horse stomps about the arena I have to kick it up and notch and of course there’s nothing wrong with a six pack. The only draw back to the new regime is having to attach your feet to bands hanging from the ceiling, now try doing that in the middle of a busy gym without looking strange.
With the holiday season come and gone, I am grateful for the reminder that the shortest day of the year is past and we’re on our way out of the dark again. With the light coming, brighter notes of optimism come again, dreams, purpose and aspirations. Nows the time to look through the calendar and fix dates and goals. Time to brush off the winter cobwebs and set forth for spring.

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