Blue Sky Sage Horseback Riding Retreats in Wyoming

For me, fear comes and goes; I try not to be fearful, but to be very deliberate in my actions, taking time to do my “due diligence” when undertaking any task, be it driving a vehicle, catching and working with any horse each and every time, or with any activity that requires undivided attention. As to how that relates to my career, it is my goal, along with the full support of the solid saddle horses I have selected with the knowledge I carry from my personal and professional horse life with Mike, and now from my wonderful horse vendor Chad Madsen, to help horsewomen learn and integrate some of the thinking processes that I have developed. More women are taking up riding at mid-life or later, or are getting back into it after a many-decade hiatus, with still others having had an incident that has allowed fear to negate the joy of horses that they used to have. And as it turns out, when we start working through the fear with horses, we learn that the same things that cause that fear are things that create other fears that take away joy in other aspects of our life.

There is the work of stowing the summer camp, laying in the firewood, filling the freezer, and around that, a much-needed vacation to shake off the intensity of the short months of summer, when we who live and work and survive in Wyoming have to “make hay while the sun shines” as the phrase goes. The work of the fall gets me out into that golden realm, to sniff the air and find the scents of the season, and I am stimulated with hiking along the fenceline to repair the broken places. As the days grow shorter and head towards the winter solstice, I will be preparing for the next season, working out, building strength, surviving the colder nights, fixing the broken stuff, building my own fire to warm this home, and asking the universe to provide what I need for the future. This passage from the Bible has the “words to live by” I think, when I consider the seasons: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 American Standard Version (ASV) 3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

However, I do believe that there are some things going on with how we approach horses and riding that, if we changed our preconceived notions and beliefs, took on some education and fundamental ideas that we either have not been exposed to or have not considered for ourselves before, then perhaps some of the problems and exposure to unsafe conditions and situations might be mitigated. It isn’t all about the tools (helmets, bits, nosebands, vests, etc.) which have a place certainly, but about a thought process that puts our personal safety first, every time we are around ANY horse, and preparing ourselves with every advantage we can attain to be safe around horses both on the ground and in the saddle. I’ve had some close calls myself in my nearly 55 years of horseback riding as a big part of my growing up on cattle ranches, wilderness packing and outfitting, and horseback adventure rides as the guide. Finding a “safe” horse is challenging at best, but can be deadly at the other extreme, and I think we often deceive ourselves that we can make a horse into something he cannot be, at least with the skills and knowledge we may have in our own experience.

Meet the Guides, Mike and Bobbi Wade Active Riding Trips is an international equestrian travel company, representing rides all over the world, one of which is Blue Sky Sage. Travel consultant and owner Stacey Adams interviewed us in 2018 for a section titled “ It’s another great overview of our philosophy what a horseback riding experience can be for riders of all disciplines.