Almost Done

Team Army (my co-pilot is also an Army Veteran ) and Ben waiting for our turn to go

The good news is, five of the tests are done and there is only one left.  The bad news is, I don’t get to drive anymore while I’m here.  I’m kind of sad; it’s been fun driving these horses.  Okay, it’s just fun getting to drive so much in general.  I really enjoy driving, a lot.  Annie is still my favorite horse, but Ben is a close second.  He’s a ploddy Haflinger that has to be convinced he can or wants to move.  Poor fellow, by the time I drove him today through the dressage test and cones course, the same ones we drove yesterday, was clearly done with the whole program.  He went through them three times yesterday, and I was the second person to drive him today.  He had two more people after me.  Despite being sick of the patterns, Ben plodded on.

Been waiting for his turn to go back to the barn

                                         

            I was much happier with today’s dressage test than I was yesterdays, although I’m quite certain I won’t be getting any great scores on impulsion.  During the cones course, going through the last pair I managed to knock a number over, but the ball stayed on the cone.  Otherwise, I was very happy with my cones course as well, and since I knew where I made my error, I’m okay with it.

            I felt great after teaching my able-bodied driver.  After the general comments to everyone though, I wasn’t feeling so good about it after all.  My teaching was good, but I missed a very important technical part of the movement I was teaching.  The worst part?  When I was contemplating this lesson plan before I got here, I had intended to be sure to put that technicality in.  I completely forgot about it when I got here.  Major brain fart, I get those sometimes.

            All in all, the certification is going well, as far as I can tell anyway.  I am tired, and although I’ve enjoyed the people, the atmosphere, the opportunity to learn so much, and getting to drive different horses, I like Ben am pretty much done.  I’ll be glad when it is all over with tomorrow and I can stick a fork in it.  I miss my baby girl, my ponies, my doggies and kitties, the bird… if I wasn’t so tired about now I’d be just plain homesick.

            So, if all goes well, tomorrow I’ll be writing some great news and I’ll officially be a PATH Intl. certified driving instructor.  Please keep the prayers going, and for those of you who have been praying for us to get some rain… it worked too so let’s keep those going as well.

Now comes the hard part

            First test down and five to go!!!  WoooHooo!!!!  I passed it too!!!  It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve met some really neat people.  Well, it’s a given that I’d meet some neat people at anything with PATH Intl., the organization is full of great people.  Today like every other day this week has been a really busy day.

            We did our practice dressage test which as far as I was concerned mine stunk.  I went off course, and then I stared at a cone I was trying to avoid which caused me to run it over.  We had to negotiate around the cones course when we did the dressage test.  Apparently I didn’t do too badly, my lowest score was a 6, and I got two 8’s.  One of my 8’s came from the horse’s submission, the comment was “you have this horse”.  Made me feel pretty good, but I didn’t see that until several hours after the test.

The cones course/dressage arena

            The cones course now, I felt really good about.  I owned that course!!!  It was so much fun!!!  I can hardly wait until I can get a chance to do more.  I’m thinking about getting to work on Jade and training her so that we can compete in the large pony division of CDE shows.  That’s Combined Driving Events for those of you who haven’t been immersed in the language for the last, um, oh my gosh only three days.  There has been a lot of information going around over the last few days.  It’s hard to believe it’s only been a few days.

            I have a favorite horse, her name is Annie.     Well, technically she is a large pony.  She’s super sweet, has an incredible work ethic, and is fun and easy to drive.  Annie is also a senior citizen being somewhere in her late 20’s.  Don’t tell her though because I don’t think she knows it.  Shes full of personality, and gave us all a big kick when she was sticking her head out of the barn window.

Annie didn't want to be left out.

Check out all those harnesses!

            This place is incredible!  The barn appears to be four stories tall.  The bottom floor has stalls in it, the second floor has all of the vehicles in it and is strong enough to bring the horses in to groom and tack up as well as store hay and have the offices in it.  It’s a beautiful place, and this is the area to find these really neat barns.   As beautiful as this place is, and as much fun as I’m having learning so many neat new things, I can’t help but get excited about getting home and applying everything I’ve learned to our program.  Just a couple of more days, and if I keep it together (i.e. don’t get too cocky) I’ll be coming home a certified driving instructor.

Check out the harnesses we used!

They have a goat!

It’s almost time…

July 2013 lesson at Good Hands Training Center in Navasota, TX I was driving Chance

It’s done; I just finished up my lesson plan for an able-bodied driver.  Thanks to one of my peers reminding me, I have it completed in time. I had forgotten it needed to be done before the certification started.  That little reminder came right after I completed walking the cones course, the second time.  My new friend who is a seasoned competitor was kind enough to walk the cones course with me after I had walked it by myself.  I’m starting to feel pretty good about this… I hadn’t been far off when I had walked the course by myself.

            My confidence has really picked up on this whole process; it grew quite a bit after our orientation/start last night.  I guess part of my self-doubt was dealing with the unknown.  By mid-morning this morning I knew I needed to go ahead and go for level II, that was after I had the opportunity to drive out here.  There was a very positive reception to my change, and it had already been encouraged last night.  As we go through the workshop, I realize that my concerns were nothing but that of my overactive imagination.

            Does that mean I’m guaranteed to pass?  Not by a long shot.  During my riding certification, two very competent people failed over silly oversights.  I’m not out of the woods yet and I’ve learned now is not the time to get cocky.  That won’t do anything but get me into trouble.  Do I have the skills I need?  Yes, I am now confident that I have the skills necessary to accomplish this goal, but I am by no means the most qualified here.  My greatest strength is my teaching skills and knowledge and understanding of disabilities.  That great strength can also be my undoing if I am not careful.  My greatest weakness is my lack of competitive experience in combined driving.  If I can remember that being a PATH Intl. Driving instructor isn’t about coaching future Olympians, it will take some of the pressure off.  I should do something about that weakness though… it would be fun beneficial to my career.  Yeah that’s it, beneficial to my career.

            All in all, I guess my main point tonight is that now I know that I can do this.  I’ve got a confidence now that I didn’t have before.  In reality, I am better prepared for this certification then I was for my riding certification, yet when I went for my riding certification I was convinced ahead of time there was no way I would fail.  This time, I went in knowing how much preparation it takes for a certification, and had managed to intimidate myself.  You know, Kathy had warned me last time that I may have needed more preparation… she grilled me and drilled me an now looking back she was right to have done so.   For this certification she was insisting I am ready and that maybe I should go for my level II.  I’ve learned that Kathy knows what she’s talking about… so, this is beyond doable, as long as I keep my head, breathe, and remember to keep the mandatories in mind.  Please pray for me, I’m not out of the woods yet, although I have found my path.

My Latest Great Adventure

Me in New Hampshire with proof that some streams really do have water in them.

We had a bit of a theme song at our last Gala for Triple-H .  It was called “The Great Adventure” by Steven Curtis Chapman.  It starts with the words “Saddle up your horses” which made it fit pretty well for us and I had even done a cute little video with the song guiding the pictures.  It’s all about facing the unknown, what’s ahead of you, putting faith in God to lead you to where you need to be, where you need to go, and that life is an adventure.  I’ve lived most of my life with the mentality that life is a journey, one fraught with many adventures be they positive or otherwise.  Well, I’m on my next adventure and so far it’s been positive, kind of.

            Yesterday was the first time I’ve been on a plane for somewhere around ten or twelve years.    It used to be a regular thing, and although I fell right back into the old routine, I don’t miss it.  Touring Chicago’s O’Hare airport did have some interesting sights to it though and I took some pictures and videos for Barbara Ann. Poor kid has never been to an airport much less on a plane or even been outside of the state of Texas.  Adding to that, Barbara Ann has some separation issues I had never experienced with Georgia and she wasn’t too happy about my leaving.  Barbara is being strong though, my brave baby girl as she accepts my absence.

Chicago's O'Hare International Airport

            Anyway, this adventure is another piece of my journey in the world of Equine Assisted Activities and Therapies.  I’m going for my driving instructor certification through PATH Intl.  It’s pretty exciting, although I got a bit nervous when I first met folks this morning.  All these people had years of competitive driving experience and I began to feel totally underqualified.  I did begin to feel a bit better though when I found out they were the people presenting the workshop and certification.  I’m still feeling underqualified though with these people having such an advantage over me, living in areas with an active driving community, or more precisely, an active non-commercial driving community.  Then again maybe its my old insecurities from adolescence coming back to haunt me.  Either way I’m a bit envious that they live in an area where getting combined driving training doesn’t take a three hour drive to get to the nearest instructor around or they’re financially in a position where that doesn’t matter.

            So intimidated, I face this adventure much the same way I face any other daunting adventure, head on.  I go forward because that is the only way to go even if my self-doubt is running high.  I put on my brave face, the one that fools people into believing I’m calm, cool, and collected, and then I’ll pretend that I have every right to be here just like the other candidates.  Who knows, maybe I do belong here and in the end I’ll pull it off like so many people back home are sure I can and then another fairy tale dreams will come true.  God please help me… and yes, that’s a prayer.