As I sit and watch my piano student carefully play through a piece of music she had 2 weeks to practice as if she is going to potentially break the keys or even worse "play a wrong note" I can't help but think, why? Why so cautiously do you play something that is meant to be a dance, a waltz, something that could move someone to tears? I am led to think about my riding immediately. Every note she played in front of me, anxiety was placing a wrath on her hands' abilities to do what she knows. This student is not one who spends every week coming to her lesson without practicing. In fact, she practices each and every day. She has amazing musical talent- so why so cautiously? I realized its because of her nature to want everything to be perfect. Her hands were so stiff from aiming for perfection that the piece of music had completely lost life- and she was playing it loaded with mistakes.
All I can hear beyond the music is the voice of my riding instructor in the background saying, "just relax. You are so tense and Dakota feels it all... You aren't letting yourself trust her. Enjoy your ride, don't worry the entire time about falling." Now it all made sense as I watched this student play. Music can be just a piece of paper when observed simply, but to true musicians who value music at a higher price than paper, it is a crushing blow the day you can't play the piece you have practiced over and over again until it's perfect. This child was waiting for that fall- that crushing blow. She wasn't enjoying what she was trying to perfect so deeply.
The following weeks of riding, all I could try and do was relax. Enjoy the weather, enjoy the achievements Dakota and I were able to accomplish once all I did was simply relax. It was like we were in a waltz together- a combo of learning extended and collected trotting, the sitting trot, our 2-point at both the walk and trot. I wasn't worried about the crushing blow of a fall anymore- I had fallen in love with this magical creature.
Riding has this magical power similar to music. You have to practice to become amazing at it but you have to enjoy the journey, you can't dread each and every ride. Sure, there are days where you will have a horrible ride and frustrate each other to no end. I've felt that way with the piano before and all I want to do is bang the keys till they break off. So why do I keep coming back? Why don't we all just throw the towel in and quit? Because there are divine forces at work beyond our control- gifts we have been given and relationships we make in the process.
My relationship with Dakota hasn't just grown her and I. My mom has the ability to talk to me about her passion which she can no longer pursue because of arthritis. She can give me advice and for once I can listen. I can listen to my peers, co-workers, and my amazing man when they have to bring me back down from my dillusional thinking. And this all came from my relationship with Dakota. And we wonder why animal therapy works?
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