Step by Step... We are getting there :-)

I have this drawing taped to my bathroom mirror to remind me that success is not an easy upwards climb, it also reminds me (daily) to NEVER ever give up when I hit a couple bumps and turns (or double and tripple spins) but to keep on going! In my last post I was so excited to announce that my little super star mare "Fabella" has officially competed her first Grand Prix test, and this past weekend we took another run at the Grand Prix test and I am very proud to report that it was our best test yet! Although we still had a couple mistakes and there are lots of areas where we can pick up some more points we scored a 65.8% and the coolest part is that we both have never felt so confident it a test before.

I would like to share a couple important lessons that I learned this weekend. First is how very important your body language is while you are riding down the centreline. The tiny difference simply the thought "we can do this!" makes. I experienced this first hand as I was cantering towards "X" before our first halt I thought exactly this and I noticed my self sit up that much straighter and as result Fabella also arched her body up that much prouder. The second lesson that I learned during this competition was to appreciate the importance of making mistakes and embracing them as learning opportunities. Making mistakes is actually one of the most important aspects of a learning process, because we often have to figure out what not to do before we figure out the right thing to do. This mind set also changes your body language immensely, because if you are able to let go of your fear of making mistakes you are able to approach challenges with an open mind and body. A big reason why Fabella and I were so much more confident as we cantered down the centreline was because we have previously made mistakes before and we also learned how to fix them. It may sound paradox but our mistakes actually make you stronger, because every time a mistake happens its an opportunity for learning to occur. So next time something doesn't go as planned instead of getting mad and frustrated embrace the learning opportunity, because a mistake is just like one of the loops in the success diagram, and taking an extra learning loop along the way doesn't mean your not getting to where you want to be. And the most motivating part is that once you have figured out how to get out of the "problem" you'll be be moving on and up wards with that much more power and momentum behind you!