WOW! AMAZING! LIFE CHANGING! AWE INSPIRING! All words I'd use to describe what I was doing on my birthday last Saturday, July 19th. I just returned home from the Parelli USA World Tour event in Prescott, Arizona! That's me..the one on the far left smiling for all I'm worth! Sitting next to me is (my idol) Linda Parelli, and my good friends Tyler and Macy (whom I ride with).
For anyone not familiar with Parelli, Pat & Linda Parelli are working to change the lives of horses and owners all over the globe by teaching people how to be more natural with their horses. I know you're probably getting an image of granola bars and sing-alongs...but to put it into perspective..."It's way more than riding!"
Our journey began Saturday morning, Michael and I headed for Prescott which is about 80 miles Northwest of our home. I have been studying Parelli for 3 years and seen tons of hours of footage of Pat & Linda so I was looking forward to seeing them in action. Boy did we get WAAAAY more than we bargained for. After a heart pounding performance of the Savvy Team, they took a break and we headed down to the Pavillion to shop. Linda was out and greeting people but in my wildest dreams, I never thought I would have a chance to meet her.
She must have seen how much I was shaking because my teeth were rattling around inside my head and as we approached her, she got up out of her chair and HUGGED ME. She was wonderful...warm, friendly and welcoming and also...calming. Go figure, no wonder her horses love her so much.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better the performances continued, I was inspired beyond belief and because our group consisted of more than 5 people, Pat invited us personally down to meet him and take pictures. Spot me again...the one with the huge cheesy grin? That's Michael in the back on the right in the yellow shirt. He's not even really into horses and he had a great time too :)
What I learned I cannot explain, and what I felt I could never describe, except to say...if you haven't discovered Parelli yet, you have doors just waiting to be opened in your horsemanship journey! Thank you Linda (Tyler's Grandma, pictured above far right) for the pictures with Pat...without your camera these memories wouldn't exist in print!
So here we are again with Pat, day two of the event....can you tell I'm flustered? Just before going up to see him again, Tyler began laughing hysterically at a joke I told her...(she's the one on the right of Pat) and boy...none of us could keep a straight face for this photo.
I returned on Sunday night after two exhilerating days of fun and learning just chomping at the bit (tee hee) to play with my horse. We blew up our big green Parelli ball and the next day I set out to 
help Jayden (my horse -->) become more confident with things rolling and moving around him. One session and 30 minutes later, I could bounce the ball OFF him and he was confident and curious.
The next day he began to try and play with the ball during our freestyle riding session. He kicked it and when it rolled away from him quickly he trotted after it. This afternoon I went out to check all the horses living here at my ranch and he RAN to the sall door to see me. This was amazing! It's also a first :) Even though Jayden is what I'd call friendly, he's never RUN to see me before. Hmmm....
So thanks to everyone who joined me on this wonderful 33rd birthday weekend of mine....Tyler, Macy, Linda, Michael...you guys are the best!
If you're interested in really developing a relationship with your horse and finding out how Parelli can apply to any part of your horsemanship journey, click here to jump to their website.
Until next time....keep it natural :)
