Happy 300th Post! Celebrate with me!

Well....I did it....300 posts!  I can hardly believe I had THAT much to say....oh who are we kidding here.....I blabber on about everything don't I?  I had a nice ride with my friend today....short but sweet.  Nice open areas and Rose was a dream boat.  My horsemanship was spectacular today!  I got to use my old dressage reins I was talking about.....man that was so refreshing.  Honestly, I much prefer the weightless feeling of them compared to the rope reins.  It was crystal clear when I had made contact....and glaringly obvious when I had lost the contact.  Which for my finesse riding is exactly what I was looking for.  As for riding with them freestyle....just as good for that too.  And just look at how ravishingly gorgeous she looks in my Stubben Bridle.  Who couldn't love a face like that?  


So lets see, I started this blog over 2 n half years ago, inspired by the movie "Julie and Julia" I left the theater and came home with the intention of doing ALL the Parelli levels tasks, level 1-4......in a year.  Unlike the movie, I failed miserably.  Lots of things got in the way of my goal, but my journey took many unsuspecting turns and twists, and thus so did my blog.  I have reviewed close to 60 horse dvd's, but 8 or so are still in draft mode waiting for me to finish them.  Those dvd's alone have changed my life and journey in so many ways, as well as the books I am reading, that I cannot find the words sometimes to express it.  When I started my blog, I was still VERY paralyzed from my fears and still in a dreadful amount of pain from the car accident.  I was still going thru a pre ride ritual, that involved cigarettes and mediation, and then I still had fear issues while riding.  As of today, I am fear free, I just hop on and ride.  And I hope to get the cantering thing tackled this summer.  


Over the last few years, my relationship with Rose hit some really low LOWS.....and my relationship with Cha'cote hit some really high HIGHS.  I have saved the lives of quite a few horses and a few dogs too.  I have gained a few pounds, lost a few, and found them again....ugh.  Been thru hell and back in my personal life and survived.  I've lost some friends and made some new ones.  And generally am doing alright.  I got to conduct a huge social experiment, in where during a dark time for Parelli, the infamous Catwalk incident, I chose to take a drastically different "online" path than all of my friends, and opened up some wonderful dialog with parelli haters world wide. (click here) to read the thread, but I must tell you, it is long and pointless if you don't read the whole thing.  I just wanted to prove that there is a way to talk to people and a way not to talk to people.  That there doesn't have to be an "us" and a "them".  We don't have to be at war with people who don't do parelli or anyone for that matter, just because we are different. So, anonymously I started a thread under the aka screen name 'tongue~n~cheek', and posted an offer to people who don't do parelli, to ask legitimate non 'anti hate' questions about parelli....and i would honestly answer those questions with OUT cramming parelli down their throats or making them feel inferior for not doing parelli. In the end I think I answered over 200 questions and another 200 private messages.  It took me 5 long weeks of only 3-4 hrs of sleep a day to accomplish it.  It started off rough, but in the end, I made alot of friends world wide and not a one of them was a parelli person. Just goes to show, when you open your heart before your mouth, wonderful things can happen.  Linda Parelli herself read the thread and was impressed, and while she and I were talking about it, she mentioned that while Pat was reviewing my audition he remarked about me "you can see she has the savvy".  Speaking of auditions, during this blogging time I officially passed 5 auditions. Woo Hoo!  While it is not 'official' I am a L4 grad, and hope to someday make it official, though it is no longer at the top of the list of High Priority anymore.  Probably the best of all, is my new found interest in French Classical dressage because although it is vastly different to my German Classical dressage past, it is completely perfect for where I am in my life with my horsemanship, where the German is not so achievable right now.  But, after giving this thing a go during good weather in the upcoming months, I may never go back.  I have found 'me' again, after searching for years!  I learned some really good stuff with the Waterhole Rituals too.  And I am certainly looking at horsemanship with brand new eyes, and what I am finding is REALLY good stuff.  What more can I ask for?  It has been a great journey that has brought me right here, right where I guess I need to be.


Thanks to those that have followed along.  My little blog is just a few short visitors away from 12,ooo views.  Here's to looking forward to the next 300 posts.....Stay tuned as I am working on some good stuff regarding bitless dressage and keeping the pole the highest point, and also working on a page about different types of horsemanship and the masters we all look up too.  Don't forget to look around, there are over 100 video's plastered all over the place with both good and bad horsemanship to learn from.


Savvy On
Michelle