Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time horsing around. And I mean that in the literal sense.
My family has managed to accumulate 6 horses over the last few years. I blame my daughters for this – apart from the occasional trail ride when I was a teenager I was never into the horsey thing. When we bought our property 12 years ago on the south coast there just happened to be a riding school next door and my eldest, then 7, was keen to ride as was her younger sister. What harm could it do? I naively thought. It’s outdoors, it’s not overly expensive for a simple trail ride and they are beautiful creatures.
Silly me! My daughters soon became hooked so when the riding school closed down we started lessons closer to home. Before long a “friend of a friend” had a horse that needed riding. That horse, Sprite, became first child’s first horse. We still have him and my youngest has just started riding him. He’s 20 now but as spritely as ever.
Sprite
That first purchase was the beginning of the end. Before long I fell in love with a horse at the stables and soon he was mine. A number of other purchases soon followed the latest being a mare in foal who gave birth in September to the lovely Rio. My inability to say no has meant an empty bank account but it has also allowed my daughters to spend time with amazing animals, wonderful people and to develop the strong sense of assertiveness that’s needed to manage a very large, strong animal.
Rio and his mum Bridget.
And me? Like my writing I came to riding later in life. In both cases I’ve had to take my time, learn the ropes, continually practice my skills. Although the two practices are entirely different in many ways, in so many others they’re alike. For both you need to learn the basics first, you need to be patient with yourself and allow yourself to make mistakes, you need to remember that there will be good days and bad – days when the horse (and the pen) will seem to do whatever you will it to do almost without any effort on your part and days when no matter what you do nothing will work and you’ll probably end up in tears of frustration. Both pursuits are highly intuitive. You need to learn to listen to the horse just as you need to learn to listen to your inner voice when writing. And for both you need to push yourself out of your comfort zone if you want to get any better. Over the last couple of years I’ve entered some Western Pleasure horse shows, dressing up in the bling and putting myself – and my horse Morocco – out there. At times the nerves have been so bad I’ve really questioned why I would do it to myself. But the answer is the same as it is for putting your writing out there for others to see and read: it’s a way of pushing yourself to do better. Sometimes I win a ribbon and it’s all worth it – just as sometimes I get great feedback on my writing. Other times I crash and burn and wonder why I’ve wasted my time. For both.
Rocco and Me doing the Western Thing
Most importantly in both cases you need to believe you can do it. When you ride a horse with positive intention and believe you can do it you will experience the most wonderful connection possible. It’s the same with writing – have faith that you can do whatever you set your mind to do and (assuming you do the practice) you will be rewarded time and time again.
I’m certainly not an A grade rider and I still have a long way to go but every time I ride I build a little more confidence. It’s the same with writing, it’s the doing it that matters. Every time I write I get new ideas, renewed confidence and the thrill that comes from getting just that little bit better.
What do you do that forces you to put yourself out there and learn new skills? Would love to hear your stories about writing, horse-riding or anything else.
Hi Pamela
I really enjoyed your post.
I discovered your blog via Twitter a few weeks ago and it looks like we have a lot in common – I too am a horse rider and a writer, I participated in the Hachette/QWC Manuscript Development Program in 2010, and my current work in progress is a very similar genre to yours!
I’ve had horses since I was 6 years old and can really relate to your words about forging a connection. No matter what’s going on in my life, when I go for a ride, it all disappears and my horse and I become one. Riding remains one of my passions 30 years on (albeit reduced since having my first child 18 months ago), so rest assured you are doing the right thing by your children – and yourself by the sounds of it!
I’ve also been writing from a young age, and my latest manuscript is the first I’ve written about horses since I was a child, and it feels a lot like coming home to write about something I’m so familiar with.
I’ve just bought Blackwattle Lake and am looking forward to reading it!
Cheers
Rebecca
So lovely to meet you Rebecca – sounds like we do have a lot in common. It’s funny because my first novel took me five years – it’s still a work in progress although I did submit it to the Hachette program in 2009,2010 and also 2011 which was when I was accepted for Blackwattle Lake. I wrote it as a nano thinking “well I spend all this time with horse so I might as well write about them” and it is the one that has been more successful. I think when you write about something that you are truly passionate about it comes through on the page. Good luck with your novel – I hope you’ll resubmit it this year. And I hope you enjoy Blackwattle Lake. Thanks for commenting.
Thanks Pamela. My first novel took five years too but was eventually accepted for the Hachette program. Ultimately I made the decision to put it to rest after taking it as far as I could, but in the meantime I’ve written two and a half other manuscripts and have managed to secure an agent. So fingers crossed I’ll be on the shelves sometime in the future!
Congratulations on your publication…look forward to reading your book 🙂
That’s fantastic Rebecca. sp hard to get an agent here in Australia. Who is yours?
Sophie Hamley from Cameron Creswell. Of course it’s no guarantee of publication, but hopefully I’ll have more chance than trying to do it on my own!
Absolutely! I met Sophie at the Hachette Workshop I did at QWC. She’s one formidable lady – if anyone can sell a book I’m sure it’s her. Good luck and please keep me posted.
Apologies if this comment turns up twice – it didn’t seem to work the first time.
That’s good to hear about Sophie. I’ve only emailed with her thus far but I’m looking forward to hopefully meeting her one day. Feel free to follow my blog at rebeccafreeborn dot com for sporadic updates about my progress 😉
Will do.
This post has really made me miss owning horses. We had three when I was young, but it’s been years. Unfortunately, between work and my thesis, I don’t have many hobbies beyond writing these days. Now I feel all inspired to go find one. Let’s see how long that lasts!
Horses are definitely a very time consuming hobby. There’s plenty of times when I feel like I should be writing instead of riding but they have given a huge amount of enjoyment to our family. Hope you manage to find the time for some sort of relaxing hobby soon!
Great Post, Pamela! Your love for horses, riding and writing really shows. Thank you.
In the past year, adjusting to my post-stroke life has pushed me out of a lifelong comfort zone. Every day I learn a little more about my new self. Appreciating ‘slow’, living mindfully, and a daily writing practice, keep me going.
You really have been pushed out of your comfort zone Desney and I so admire the way you are dealing with the challenges and allowing them to add new meaning to your life. Thank you for sharing.
Gorgeous horses, gorgeous post! It’s funny isn’t it, how you can never have just one horse?
I’m a serial animal collector Jennifer – the problem is I don’t live on a farm!