8/29/21
10:15 am Sunday
On the Trail of Joy with My Dales Pony Arabella, Racing Viggo on His Dales Pony Bess in Our Horse Arena!
We just finished a large project at Cascadia Heritage Farm, a horse arena. Shuna wanted an arena before her birthday on September 3rd. We achieved this birthday challenge!
To be perfectly honest, I am not a rider. I didn’t really know what a horse arena is used for. I would even go as far as saying I didn’t understand why it was important to have one. We have many horse trails by our house that we take the horses out on. Why have an arena? I vaguely understand they can be used for training for dressage, working equitation and similar activities, which are extremely foreign/ alien to me.
Shuna rode Taz for the first time in the arena yesterday. She looked gorgeous with a huge smile on her face and Taz looked regal as they explored this new environment. We added an additive to the arena and it makes it like a giant feather bed! Well, my wife’s smile that lights up the world is reason enough to build this arena, but that is not the whole story.
Shuna wanted me and Viggo to experience the new space and I am very thankful she did. She saddled Arabella and Bess for us, thank you Shuna! Viggo and I led our ponies into the arena.
I lift Viggo onto his Bess. I start trying to mount Arabella and Shuna alerts me that there is a mounting block. I am thrilled to have the mounting block and easily mount my steed. I have my muck boots on, so I need some help from Shuna to get my feet into my stirrups. Shuna says I should wear riding boots.
The first thing that comes to mind is to race Viggo! Viggo is a little hesitant. He hates to lose. I really want him to be OK with losing and OK with winning. I want him to appreciate these opportunities and not need the outcome to define the experience. It is a wonderful life and we want to appreciate as much of it as we can, whether we win or lose. To appreciate the miracle!
I convince Viggo to race and I beat him! He has a hard time with that and says we both won. I don’t argue. As we raced and raced and raced, he won some and I won some. He lost some and I lost some. Viggo experienced the joy of just doing and being and the clarity and acceptance that sometimes we win and sometimes we lose and it is OK. I was thrilled with how well he did.
It was not just Viggo I was thrilled with, but also our spirited Dales Ponies. They loved to race and cut each other off. What fun partners! Watching the video of the epic battle of father against son, pony against pony, what strikes me is how much joy we all experienced! Shuna said we had to cool our ponies down after the races and I found it so pleasurable to go round and round the arena as we watched the sun set as a glow emanated from me and met the orange glow that lit our whole world at that moment. What a pleasure, what joy. I didn’t want to stop going round and round on the ponies with loved ones close at hand. I would not have thought the trail of joy, hope and appreciation could be traversed in a 60’ by 120’ rectangle. Perhaps the greatest journeys can happen in your own backyard surrounded by the ones you love. Thank you Shuna, and happy early birthday!
PS Shuna has suggested Viggo and I should start practicing with her on “working equitation”, it is great idea! Viggo and I enjoy competing against each other; it such a gateway/ path for joy, sign us up!