Well, you know what they say! Better late than never!
The Externship just over two months ago and now that I'm back home the last two years feel like a strange, wonderful dream!
I left my last blog post with us about to spectate in the Colt Start course. It was better than that, we got to participate, at least in the start. Rob McCauliff explained that a horse is not really started until it accepts humans in it's life to the point where it entirely turn itself over to the human. Our job was to give the horses a puzzle to work out that humans are a positive contribution to their lives and that they can solve all their problems by looking to humans. This meant catching their minds. It was a deep insight into how the levels program is in fact a colt start program but that most humans miss a lot of the finer points.
We need to become better at reading the horse, green lights, amber and red (red lights are rarely hard to read!). We need to understand that the friendly game is your demeanor, it is about causing yourself to be a source of comfort for the horse, the answer to all his problems. It is not something you do one seventh of the time.
Following our involvement with the colts, we had a lesson of the Elements of Man, the psychological system that caused Linda to formulate horsenalities and, later, humanalities. It was so cool to see how this relatively simple system could explain inherent differences between people that affect how they interact with each other. We then used this information to assess student teacher relationships and work out the best strategies to teach different people.
We also had the privilege of auditing Pat's Western Performance Course. This was probably one of the most profound things I got from the externship. Watching Pat in action was a real eye opener. I realised that I was not putting enough purpose to my principles and not expecting enough from my horse! After one afternoon of watching Pat I had a riding session with Boaz and had him turning on the haunches like a real horse. Suddenly his potential as a sport horse came out and he wasn't just the "nice little trail pony" people kept describing him as.
Toward the end of the Externship, we were asked to put on a demonstration at the local county fair. We took a field trip to the Rodeo ground where we mentally brainstormed some ideas and thought about logistical considerations. The Externs were split into two groups. One team would perform on the first day wth the second team as their ground crew, and then we would swap on the following day.
I was in the ground crew on the first day and helped Samantha with the sound system and looking after our mascot, Susan and Maurice's dog, Summer.
The next day it was time for me and Boaz to do our bit! The first team had done a stirling job and were going to be a tough act to follow. We had made the decision to use our savvy spot light teams from earlier in the externship and to run two acts on each day. Rather than have one team go first and then the other we combined our teams in order to emphasise our strengths.
Aurelie plaited Boaz so he was looking very smart and I had cleaned his tack. I was borrowing Shirley's dressage saddle as I was meant to be showing finesse.
When we got to the showground, after a perfectly uneventful transportation of eight horses (how many people can say that?) I realised that I had left the girth to the saddle behind.
Jeannie kindly leant me her bareback pad and Adency headed back to the barn. I got on Boaz to warm up and found a much more jazzed up equine than I was used to. He quickly accepted the new environment, as I had proudly expected him to. I had left his saddle on the rail and got ready to come in behind the others, closing the gate as we began our routine. We all ran in on foot and played a little online. I did a little stick to me and then quickly climbed onto the rail and began the bridling and unbridling routine. I had a small bit to do then I had to move aside for a few minutes before riding into the centre of the arena to begin my pas de deux with Kari. I saw that Adency had returned with the girth and I had to remove the barback pad and saddle Boaz with as much savvy and speed as I could. I didn't have time to ensure that the stirrups were the right length so I played on the short side, as I only have little legs. When I mounted Boaz and put my feet in the stirrups I felt like a jockey. We headed straight for the question box and began our routine. Kari and I were turning about each other, and then we both trotted and cantered circles. Kari was bridleless and I was riding with finesse. as we returned into the question box Kari began to spin and Boaz and I took off circling them as if we were moving each other. I could feel my saddle move as I had not been able to tighten my saddle girth enough. I used my balance to keep things steady and amazingly no one noticed that I was riding with stirrups too short and girth to lose. In fact Maurice said it was the best he'd seen me ride.
As Kari and I finished the others stepped forward to shine. They were focusing on different ways to circle, online and at liberty. I kept Boaz in the corner and had him turn on the haunches and when Samantha was standing on a barrel with her horse circling around it and Anne and her horse riding under the line I stepped forward and joined hem as they changed direction and had the horses go backwards. Two horses backing under the line as the online horse also backs up in a circle. It was pretty darned cool! Next me and Anne took off together and jumped the jump as a pair before turning back onto the center line to face the audience.
I was so proud of Boaz, and so pumped from our show that I took off Boaz's bridle and galloped a lap of honour before exiting the arena.
The Externship ended with our theory assessments. I got 100% in the theory, which involved general horsemanship, colt starting and policies.
On the second to last day we each had a meeting with our instructors, Maurice and Susan, to discuss our overall grades. I was disappointed to learn that my efforts had not been enough to earn a 2* Professional Aptitude, but a strong one star. I asked where I had gone wrong and was told that they felt like sometimes I wasn't taking their advice. I went away and thought about it, but this comment still made no sense to me. through out the externship I had done my best to take on every piece of advice they had given me, to practice the exercises. I was the only extern almost religiously practicing her roping skills after Maurice's demo. I went back and asked to talk to them because I figured I would not be able to make the necessary changes if I didn't know what I was really doing wrong. When we spoke about it I got the feeling like I had been scored on a judgment that had been made about me. It seemed that they only had a couple of examples of me doing different things to what they had asked and I was able to explain it. I regret that they had not come to me and addressed those particular moments at the time but had instead held on to them and disregarded everything else at the moment of scoring.
The result meant that I would have to be a one star professional for a year and then look to apply to have my aptitude recognised for an application for two star.
I still have to get my level four online to become an instructor, and after the recent instructor conference it was announced that all professionals would be required to be level four in all four savvies.
The final farewell on the last day was a hard one. I made some wonderful friends in America, people I will never forget, and many that I intend to keep in touch with and see again in the future.
Now that I'm home the final score doesn't seem so harsh. My journey isn't about comparing myself to others and coming out best in class, my journey is about developing myself to be the best horsewoman I can be. I am lucky to be where I am, to have the love and support I have and I wouldn't change a thing.
