YOU ARE A BAD ASS!

That’s what I was telling myself as I was driving to the barn for my lesson – as crazy as it makes me sound, it slightly worked. I amped myself up. I was like, “Omg, stop being so childish, you’ve got this! You’ve done it all before and now all of a sudden you want to be scared because you broke your arm, LIKE COME ON”.

I watched a Facebook video the other day about an Olympic rider who was talking about all the bones she had broken during her riding career. She is a late 50s woman, who is being such a bad ass. She broke so many bones she forgets what she hasn’t broken! She talked about overcoming all the fear, and challenge’s she had to face after each fall and recovery period. She also talked about all the criticism she had received from people close to her, people that have told her to “give up” to, “just stop, it’s just a horse”.  Now, anyone who has any kind of hobby they are passionate about can tell you, you can’t just “give up”. Sure, you can feel like you can give up, that you can just stop. But can you actually really? Deep down you know that you can’t, you can’t quit something you love. As long as you are physically capable of doing it, DO IT.

Currently I am being told to just stop. That “I don’t need to ride, I can do other things. You’re 30 and you aren’t going to go anywhere”. Now, as I sip my wine and listen to those folks telling me these things, I think “what is your hobby, I don’t see you doing anything other than being a NEGATIVE NANCY”

Despite the fact that I might not “go anywhere” – WHO CARES. I have something I enjoy, I have a hobby. I am doing what makes me happy. I also get a lot of; “why don’t you have children, you can’t ride when you have kids” OMG. That one is a kicker. My body isn’t solely for reproduction thank you very much.

LET’S ALL BE BAD ASSES. Let’s all do what makes us happy. And show those negative Nancy’s!

RIDE THAT HORSE! If dressage makes you happy, DO IT! If jumpers make you happy, DO IT! You only have one life, you have to make the best of it.

Ride that horse, jump those jumps and be the bad ass that you are!

Regardless of all the negative Nancy’s in my life at the moment, I had a great lesson this past Monday. There were no moments of cantering around thinking “I quit” moments. It was more like “OMG, I am SO Cold. This SUCK’S. I can barely keep my legs on because I am SO COLD!”.  Number one Canadian problems eh!?! I jumped a solid 2ft… YAAAY! Moved up, a little. It’s slightly embarrassing because I know I can jump higher, and that I can actually do it. But until I stop these stupid mental games we are keeping it low. We only had one “stop” (I wouldn’t even call it a stop, because I simply tried to avoid it all together ..at a walk) and that was because I was like “NOPE, I don’t see a spot, I don’t know what I am doing. SOS! SOS!”

I survived another Monday lesson. Another Monday lesson ending on a positive note to keep pushing me and to keep reminding me to be that bad ass!

❤ The Nervous Equestrian