it's gonna be a hard road, but it'll be worth it

i absolutely love cantering bareback. it is proof of how much freedom and i have both grown in the past 6 and a half years. i don't care that we'll never win a dressage test. i don't care that the fancy expensive horses will beat us every time. i care that: six years ago, cantering bareback would have been a death wish. riding bareback would have been a death wish. and now? i can let go of the reins and trust my horse.

i hate thinking that we only have so many rides left. it's hard to step back and let him go to someone else. it sounds cliche to say that we've been through so much together, but it's true. i freaking love that horse.

(photo by Gregory White)