I had just enough time to get Raudi out for a ride this morning. I thought I had more time, but when I came in and looked at the clock, I realized that I had erred. So the other two best ponies in the entire world did not get out.

It supposedly rained last night – Pete woke me up, saying it was raining. He also told me to be careful going down the porch stairs that they might be slippery. They were dry.

The sun comes up, and before going behind the clouds, it shines. Really nice morning light. Today was no exception. Temperatures were in the upper 30s, a fine day for a ride.

Alys and Raudi on road in front of our house

I took the dogs along with Raudi and me. I went up Jim’s Road, rather than first taking the Murphy Road Trailhead. More and more, I’ve been riding without stirrups – it’s getting easier. And as soon as I lower and relax my legs, Raudi snorts. She also snorts when I bring Centered Riding imagery to mind, or do exercises such as raise my hands over my head.

And lately, I’ve been picturing my core as being filled with light. My energy level goes up as I picture condensing the light into a small kernel. I don’t know if Raudi is aware of this.

And it seems most fitting – I picture myself as being a spruce tree, with my legs extending like tree roots into the ground. And I picture my back as being straight, like a spruce tree.

She (as usual) went slowly and carefully heading down Siggi’s Trail. I headed back on Raudi’s runway, feet out of the stirrups, and asked her to canter. My exercises and visualizations did the trick – Raudi went into her smooth, rocking horse canter and I moved along with her.

I found my orange Centered Riding instructor manuals last night. Looking at them brought back memories. It was this time of year, a few years back, when I went to the Netherlands for a symposium and a clinic.

I had aspirations of teaching Centered Riding. I was a Level One instructor; I hoped a soon to be Level Two instructor. This never came to be. The Level Four instructors, who worked with Centered Riding founder Sally Swift, did not have their evaluative act together. There were no standards or objectives for the various levels. So my focus on body/mind awareness was never taken into account.

Do I have regrets? Absolutely not. I’m glad I got the instruction and training that I did – and that this makes itself apparent when I ride, care for, and interact with my mares. They are all the absolute best, and this is because I got the training that I got when I got it.

The only thing missing is having someone to ride and talk horses with. Where did everyone go? And will a person (just one) who has a passion for Icelandic horses ever materialize? I honestly have no idea.

Next: 303. 11/4/23: Ride ‘m Like you Own ‘Em