Pip's belief...

This has been such an amazing time in my journey of horsemanship. My partnership with Bronson has gone from strength to strength and things that I used to dream of, like hacking out on our own and cantering around the massive 20 acre canter field, on a loose rein and in complete control, are now my reality!

To have come from where we did, with Bronson being a fruit and nut and me being a mentally and physically lazy beginner, to where we are today is extraordinary! It hasn’t been easy. I’ve had to work hard on my physical and mental fitness (and of course horsemanship), thankfully not at a gym but with my horse, hurrah! What has been consistent throughout though has been Pip’s belief in us.

Something I’ve noticed since my early days here is that Pip doesn’t just try something once with an animal, it not work and then give up, she persists and continues to give them opportunities to get it right. Same with us riders! No matter how slow the progress or how many times she has to repeat herself or find a different way to say the same thing until I understand, she presses on and gets me to where I need to be. This has been essential! After all, at the beginning of the year when she was rehabilitating Bronson and taking him out for hacks on his own for the first time, he would nap and rear just getting off the yard. With her calm leadership and determination he worked through this behaviour and now I’m able to ride him out safely on my own with no dramas whatsoever!

What is certainly true is that without Pip’s belief in Bronson and his capacity to change and grow he would never have gotten to where he is today. Without Pip’s belief in me I would never have reached this point either. Her promise that if I followed her guidance to the letter I would be able to work with this horse, who was so far beyond my ability at that point, safely and would be able to create a wonderful partnership with him has been delivered upon in spades.

Pip believed in us even when we didn’t believe in ourselves and that has been the most wonderful gift.