A winter hack

Two years ago I did something out of the ordinary. I picked up the phone and signed myself up for horseback riding lessons. I had never been on a horse before but I took this on as a challenge to myself. I think my family and friends thought I was crazy. Six months earlier I had left a great job, family and friends to start a new life at a new job with new people in a new city 3 hours away. That was crazy. This... was not so crazy.

I have to admit I originally set my goals pretty high... Olympic gold by 2012.

Today, I have much more realistic goals for my riding... Just enjoyment and relaxation. So, when my riding buddy Sarah Facebooked me that she was going for a winter hack today. I didn’t hesitate to say ‘yes’.

Bundled up in our winter gear we headed out on Dallas and Beau. Yesterday’s temperatures were spring-like so a lot of the snow had melted. Today was much colder, the ground was frozen over and the grass was crisp. The horses seemed a little skittish and tentative as we made our way along the trail. Areas were iced over from the melted snow. It took some coaxing and creative steering from Sarah and I to get the horses to go. Now, I’ve been trail riding during the summer, I’ve even been trail riding through Central Park but I’ve never been on a winter trail ride before. It required all of my attention and drawing upon skills I had learned over the last year. I found this winter hack exhilarating.

We stopped to take a few pictures, of course. And, I thought... while a lot of people today might be dreading going back to work, I was doing something I loved. I felt renewed, complete and was looking forward to starting another exciting year at my job... Yes, really. Is this what happiness feels like? At that moment, I felt like the luckiest person alive. I would not have been able to experience this moment if I hadn’t picked up that phone, signed up for those riding lessons, or taken that leap of faith to change my life by making the move to Peterborough. The journey hasn’t been easy but today I knew it was worth it.

The rest of the hack was uneventful. Sarah and I rode along and chatted as big snowflakes started to fall. Beau was amazing today and he looked fantastic. Thank you Sarah for inviting me along today. I look forward to our next winter hack. Hopefully, next time there will be more snow to ride through.