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Motivation from Moshi, by Jane Savoie

One of the hardest things I’ve ever learned to do is the one-tempi changes. It’s like a whole new gait I didn’t know I could do. I was confused and a little bit frustrated when Jane started teaching me to do them. There was a point when felt exasperated, and I wanted to give up. But I know that life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you. They’re supposed to help teach you what you’re really made of. These challenges help you discover who you really are.

I’m an athlete. I know that. I made the decision that I wasn’t going to accept failure. So after a deep breath, I calmed my mind and really concentrated on what Jane was asking. Suddenly I was doing multiple one-tempis down the long side of the arena! Jane was so thrilled, she stopped, jumped out of the saddle, and hugged me around the neck! I knew I’d finally done it!

Today the one-tempis are easy for me. But it’s taken a lot of practice to get to this point. The key has been that we never even considered giving up. We accepted the challenge, took it one day at a time, and spent a lot of time visualizing, breathing, and practicing each piece of the puzzle. And now I’m showing at Grand Prix!

I’ve heard people around the barn say that life is hard. You can simply accept that and be upset about it if you want to. Or, you can take that negative idea as a positive challenge to see what you’re made of. The only wrong answer to the question “Can I do it?” is: “I’m not going to try.”

Come to the barn and watch me skip down the long side! I’m really good at it now!

Love, Moshi

From Indy:

There’s nothing I love more than to spend the day in the water. I get so excited when Rhett and Jane throw sticks in the pond for me to retrieve. The sticks keep moving as they float away in the waves, so it’s a challenge to grab them. I love a challenge.

I decided I would see if I could catch the stick before it hit the water. I would jump as far as I could into the pond, just as Rhett threw the stick. Occasionally I caught it in the air, before I even got wet! It was great fun.

Yesterday I jumped into the water just as Rhett let go of the stick, and it landed on my head instead of in the pond. It really hurt! I cried. Rhett felt bad and decided to take me home. But in a few moments the pain subsided, and I was ready to go again! I wasn’t going to let a little setback stop our fun! I let him know that I was okay and ready to try again.

I could have concentrated on the bump on my head and had a bad day for the rest of the day. I probably could have stretched it out for a week if I really wanted to. But I decided to put my attention on what I wanted, which was to have fun, instead of what I didn’t want, which was the sore bump on my head.

Do you ever think more about the bumps and bruises of life than the good places where you’d rather be headed? Just being aware of that tendency, is the first and most powerful step in changing it.

Are you good at throwing sticks? Let’s go to the pond and see how far you can throw one! I’ll bring it back to you.

Love, Indy

Jane Savoie
1174 Hill St ext.
Berlin, VT 05602
Jane’s Website
DressageMentor.com

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