When we had done the 3-Day clinic with Clinton, I was, like many others, concentrating on my seat, especially at the trot. According to my friends when I tried to sit at the trot it looked like a monkey humping a football. Anytime we trotted Clinton would tell us to post. I “posted” for the three days but thought it should be easier to learn how to sit the trot. It really feels like you are going over 1,000 speedbumps within 100 yards, turning around and doing it again. Until you find your seat and rhythm. It wasn’t pretty but I kept riding and as I gained experience I learned some equitation and got a better seat in the saddle. It was just recently while watching videos I finally learned the reason for posting. It now makes perfect sense when you put it all together with other exercises.
This horsemanship is all a giant puzzle and if you miss steps or pieces; the puzzle is never complete. I don’t know where I had missed that tidbit for so long but this time around it has really sunk in. Another puzzle piece that needed to be added in was how frustrating training is. It was years ago and I’m not sure if it was at a clinic, on an RFD-TV show, or on one of the training DVDs, where Clinton had said, “ This is not personal.” He went on to explain that when your horse doesn’t understand or misbehaves you cannot take it personally. Such a short simple statement made all the difference in the world. I cannot tell you how many times I left the round pen or the arena crying completely frustrated and ready to give up on horses forever. I would be embarrassed, mad, and completely devastated. When he said that, and I wrapped my head around it, my entire attitude changed, it no longer broke my heart that my horse and I weren’t perfect. Don’t get me wrong, my horse can still frustrate me, but now it stopped being such a personal insult.