We Ride Sport and Trail Magazine March 2019 | Page 18

Change

18 / Sport and Trail Magazine

BARBRA SCHULTE

WWW.BARBRASCHULTE.COM

THREE WAYS TO SURVIVE

D

when our son Zane was an infant. I was willing to do whatever he needed, of course, but it kept changing. As a young Mom, I would think, “Ok, I’ve got it now. He wakes up once a night at 2:00 and then goes back to bed until 6:00. I can plan around that.” Sure, that was good for about 2 days. And then it changed. I kept trying to figure it out.

But now, years later, I finally understand that things are always changing, even when we don’t realize it.

In our horse lives, when we first started riding, we just knew what we knew at that time. We thought we’d always ride the same horse , always be in the same barn, always go to the same shows.

But then, things changed. Our beloved horse got arthritis. The trainer moved. We were forced to take a break because of an accident, or financial reasons, or whatever.

And then we were on unsteady ground again.

As I continue to learn, and study great mentors in personal performance and personal growth, I have come to understand that those who continue to excel, even through change, have some things in common:

They too are uncomfortable with change. But herein lies the difference: they don’t resist the change. They trust themselves and they trust their journey. They might say something to themselves like, “This is hard. I’m really sad, or maybe mad, but I’m strong.” So, when the trainer moves or you move away from your horsey friends, you know you will survive, and somehow find your way.

Those who flow best with change believe there is some good that will come through the difficulty. Maybe they don’t know what it is, but they truly do believe it exists. They also know that only time and a willingness to see things that way will tell the tale. They don’t know how things will turn out, but again they trust their journey. This is a strong personal belief of mine. It has gotten me through some tough times in my personal life, or in my horse training life when a horse got sore, or a show didn’t go well for me … just to name a few.

Next, those who flow best with change not only believe something good will come to pass, they actively look for it. For me, maybe not being able to ride one of my favorite horses, helped me see the good things in one of the other horses, things I had missed. For you, perhaps if you have to stop riding for a while, you can use that time to travel to big shows and watch, something you’ve wanted to do for years.

Yes, change is really hard, and it’s sad sometimes, and it almost always seems to kind of suck. But, after you grieve a bit (and give yourself time for that), tell yourself that you are strong. Yes, you can survive. And yes, there is a gift in the misfortune. And when you’re ready, yes, go searching for it.

Barbra Schulte is a Professional Cutting Horse Trainer, Personal Performance Coach, Author, Clinician, and Equine Consultant.

id you ever notice how we all crave for things to be certain? We avoid change like the plague. We love thinking that FINALLY, we found the way it’s going to be. I like it and I don’t want any change.

Funny, the most dramatic case of this is my life was when our son Zane was an infant. I was willing to do whatever he needed, of course, but it kept changing. As a young Mom, I would think, “Ok … I’ve got it now. He wakes up once a night at 2:00 and then goes back to bed until 6:00. I can plan around that.” Sure, that was good for about 2 days. And then it changed. I kept trying to figure it out.

Barbra Schulte is a Professional Cutting Horse Trainer, Personal Performance Coach, Author, Clinician, and Equine Consultant.

Barbra has been involved with horses her entire life. Beginning in early childhood and continuing through college, she helped market and show many of her family’s 500 head of horses. She competed in western pleasure, reining, horsemanship, and cutting.

In 2000, Barbra was awarded the prestigious National Female Equestrian of the Year Award given by the American Quarter Horse Association in conjunction with the Women’s Sports Foundation. This honor recognized outstanding performance and leadership in a female equestrian. Candidates for the award spanned across all disciplines recognized by the American Quarter Horse Association.

In 2012 Barbra was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, one of the most prestigious honors possible for women equestrians. She was honored for all of her outstanding career accomplishments.

Today, Barbra continues to train and show cutting horses. At the same time, she is expanding her education business by continually providing new online and live informational training for riders of all disciplines (regarding mental and emotional skills) and cutting horse

enthusiasts. www.barbraschulte.com

I have trained and shown cutting horses for a lifetime. As a professional trainer, I can remember sad trips home when I bombed out of a national cutting competition in Fort Worth, Texas. Sometimes I lamented my mistakes during the entire four-hour drive from North Texas to South Texas. UGH!

But then, over time, I became more and more aware of folks with real life-threatening trials. Wow. Being upset about losing a cow at the show seemed almost embarrassing by comparison.

As I thought about the trials of those people, I started to wonder about the meaning of my life with horses. What was the real importance of it all?

And what about the importance of external “success” and trying to hold on to winning? What about all of the pain of the bomb-outs in the show arena?

That pain was real, too.

There are all kinds of adversities. Some of them bring us to our knees for a long time. Others are short-lived.

Often, we feel alone and isolated. We think we are the only one who’s ever known such heartbreak.

But it’s never so. We are never alone.

Everyone has a rocky road. And you can bet those rocks will show up from time to time.

Adversity is a part of our lives. Whether our trials are large or small, they can be tough to navigate.

I used to say that when I get to heaven (assuming I go there (:-) I’m going to ask God why he made so many things so hard? Why can’t we just cruise in our lives? Why can’t it be easier?

I would never pretend to be a scholar or a theologian and answer those questions. But there is one thing I do know.

The real journey of our lives (including our “horsey” life) is a bumpy one. No one escapes disappointments and uncertainties.

I have also come to know that in each trial, there is a gift equal to or greater than the pain.

Although we would never choose the adversity on our own, in the aftermath of it, we can choose to hunt for the treasure … to focus on finding the gift that lies beneath the surface … and then be deeply grateful for the new-found gem.

There are two keys to opening ourselves up to receive the gift(s) in adversity.

The first is to be willingly to walk through the shadows.

When adversity hits, I encourage you to walk through that yuck with an open mind. Say to your heart, “Thank you for the gift even though I don’t know what it is right now. I will surely discover it. I will keep searching for it. I will find it.”

The second key is to be kind to yourself along the way. Be gentle with you. Treat yourself as you would treat your best friend.

You are awesome. You have a precious, personal, beautiful spark. During times of adversity, take care of yourself.

There is always a gift in every adversity. It’s up to you to be the treasure hunter who is kind to you. Be patient and kind with you.

.

.

.