"When I am on her back, all the bleak things and crazy things and wounding things go away, and there is only harmony, and partnership, and trust, and love." Tania Kindersley, Author and Equestrian

 Since Bill O’Reilly’s dismissal from Fox News, there may no longer be a “no-spin zone” on TV, but there is always one on my Sportie's back.

 As Tania Kindersley so eloquently remarked in her excellent memoir “The Happy Horse,” our minds are usually spinning wildly throughout the day. From bleak things like “is my daughter ever going to graduate?” to crazy things like “what if I didn’t turn the stove off this morning?” to wounding things like “Meredith didn’t say hi to me when I got to the stables, I wonder what I did wrong?” it’s sometimes a wonder we ever do any constructive thinking.

These are but a few of the stresses we deal with every day. They start out as a whisper on that hamster wheel mind of ours, then as the wheel spins faster they get louder until we think we might go stir crazy.

That’s why, although I hate driving, I drive the 20 minutes to the stables. Although I hate working outside in the humidity, I will muck stalls, throw feed and rake for 2 hours. It’s all worth it for the half hour of sanity I regain once I get my feet in the stirrups and my mind finally stops spinning. Once I’m settled in the saddle it’s as if a band director makes his cut sign with his baton, and all noise is silenced. The outer tranquility of the fields and softly blowing trees mirror my inner tranquility. I let out a huge sigh from the depths of my being and Sportie echoes it. 

All that exists is our silent but eloquent partnership.

(Photo credit to Craig Smith)