I know I know.
I’ve been doing other things…..
like painting my XC boots pink…….
& completing my first Intermediate with the Zebrasaurus…..
instead of finishing my blogs.
My apologies!!!! Though the pink may have been worth the delay.
It’s definitely out of control when a fan finds me at a show and says, “Just WHEN are you going to tell us the rest of the story??!!”
It’s been so long let’s do a brief review.
Or you can read the WHOLE story here Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.
The review: I voluntold the BadEvent groom to join me for the LandSafe Reducing Rider Risk Clinic.
She does have to ride my crazy *ss horses afterall…..
I signed up, because in all reality, I’ve always wanted to ride a mechanical bull. Here’s the closest I had ever gotten….
And I’ve always just been too chicken to get on one…….
And then there’s this little detail that I have a few plates in my face……….. more about that later.
We started with some tumbling,
which honestly I found just as horrifying as falling off of a mechanical horse at speed.
Here’s the show off of the group.
Between day one and day two was when I had “the big epiphany”.
This is where I’ll quote one of my all time favorite movies. A serious classic if you haven’t seen it. Not to mention I just can’t walk away from anything with Denzel in it.
“There are moments which mark your life. Moments when you realize nothing will ever be the same and time is divided into two parts, before this, and after this………..” the movie Fallen
After learning about falling, and fall training, and looking at photos and videos of falls……….and getting an introduction to the concept of “saving yourself”
That’s when I realized.
This
didn’t have to happen.
I’ve been telling my story for years about how my horse tripped. He didn’t do anything wrong and there was nothing I could have done……………
#WRONG
1/2 way through the LandSafe clinic I realized that I’d been telling a lie for a decade. There were a dozen things I could have done that would probably have saved me a busted shoulder, knee, and face. Not to mention the TBI.
Boy was that realization some self-aware tough-love.
The good news, is now I know there are things I can do.
And hopefully next time, I won’t “ride it to the ground” & I’ll use my new found skills!
If you haven’t taken the LandSafe Reducing Rider Risk clinic, DO IT!