Lean Forward

I recently went on a vacation with my sisters and their families. One of my nieces wanted to go horseback riding, and oddly enough, I was the only adult in our group with any experience to speak of. I say oddly because I am not much of an athlete, and I was terrified of real horses as a child, although I collected statues of them to decorate my room. My fear stemmed from visiting the farm belonging to some cousins, and they all knew I was a meek and fearful city girl. I could cross a busy street in the city, but getting on a horse in the country? Scared to death. It did not help that we would sometimes sit around the breakfast table on the farm, and they would list the horses they had and all of their personalities. None of the adults or children thought any of them would be gentle enough for me. None of us even tried to get me on a horse as a child until one brave cousin led me around in circles once as if I was on a pony ride. I think we were about seventeen at the time. I begged him not to let go of the lead, and God bless him, he did not. This is the same cousin who once left me driving an antique tractor around in circles while he went inside for pie, but that is another story.
I did not attempt to go on an actual trail ride until I was in my twenties. A niece of mine came to visit us in Arizona, and one of the things she wanted to do was ride a horse. Since I did not want to sit around while she and my husband went, I faced my fear and went too. I found that my fears were ungrounded as long as the horse was gentle and well-trained.
Real experience came later when my family visited a ranch belonging to my husband’s cousin. There, I once had to help corral one of the horses. I was standing with a fence on my right and the wall of a barn on my left, and the rancher told me he was going to scare the horse to me, and that I was to stop the horse. “I’m supposed to stop a running horse?” I asked, “One that is running straight for me? And, how do I do that?” “Just put your arms up and yell, ‘Haah’” he answered as if that is something I did every day. No big deal. So, I stood there, and I honestly was more scared that I would chicken out and jump to the side letting the horse run free than I was that the horse would run me over. I did not want the rancher, my cousin by marriage, to think that I was some fraidy cat sissy girl who would jump out of the way when faced with danger, so I did it. I yelled “Haah” and held up my arms, and that horse stopped. Hallelujah!
Years later, I found myself calmly giving advice to my sister’s daughter. “Lean forward when going uphill and back when going down. Stand up in the stirrups to give your bottom a break. Relax as much as possible. Your horse knows if you are scared.” Some of this she already knew, but it felt good to remind myself of these things as well. Later that day, I went hiking to keep my legs from stiffening up. I noticed myself leaning forward as I went uphill and leaning back as I went down—just as I had that morning on the horse. It reminded me that when faced with a difficult task, it is actually easier to lean forward than to back away.
Life can be scary, but if we face forward and trust ourselves (and our horses), then it usually turns out okay. So, the next time you have to climb a hill, real or metaphorical, just lean forward. You may surprise yourself with your abilities.