Saddle Up and Face Your Fears

"But I'm scared!" exclaimed my youngest child Nic.  This frantic plea was in response to my instructions to let go of the saddle horn and ease Pete (his new pony) into a trot.

We have always had several horses in the pasture that our family enjoys for trail riding, playdays, and team roping.  My oldest two children Jessie(19) and Jordan (15) have grown up around horses, but my youngest two, Cecilia (10) and Nicolas (8), were adopted just a couple of years ago.  They are your typical kids, but have not been exposed to the country way of life, until now.  Ceci quickly adapted to the saddle and has become quite the little cowgirl, but our son Nic has been terrified to ride without someone leading the horse around.  When he has ridden he tends to let the horse do what it wants.  My wife and I had decided to get Nic his own Pony thinking a smaller horse would help boost his confidence and besides every little boy needs a Pony!

I became a little frustrated, seeing Nic repeat the same mistakes he made on the big horses, on the little pony.  Thank God for my wife, she had enough mommy sense to see that my temper was getting the best of me and she reminded me that he must gradually build his confidence and that it wouldn't happen overnight.  "He'll have to relax and get to know Pete before he is confident enough to trot.", she said.  She then explained to Nic that even if an accident happened and he fell off, he was a lot closer to the ground than if he was on one of Dad's roping horses.  The relief was instantly seen in a grin on his face.  He has heard many stories of Dad coming off of the back of a horse, and the silly descriptions the older two have given of the events.

I had time to reflect on this when I laid down to bed and began to realize that it's just like my newly found career path in radio.  I am the guy who wants to jump in, know it all, and be perfect at whatever I take on.  My fear is the fear of not succeeding in the things I attempt, no matter what that may be.  I must step into the stirrup, swing up on the saddle, take the reigns, and push my proverbial horse into a trot.  If I fall, then oh well, I will dust myself off and repeat, with a grin!