5 Steps at a Time – Journey to Wholeness #25

Ripping a Run at French Classical Dressage Clinic... Pippa Came to Town! Life Changing Week.

Last week was the Fall clinic with Pippa. It was life changing, huge, productive and a vision come true. This week’s 5 steps will be all around the clinic and I hope to give even a little glimmer of the experience and transformation.

  1. Truth Team: This season I invited a handful of people, one by one, and ended up with a true vision and fulfillment of the “dream team.” It was partially intentional as I’ve been reading all about this kind of process from multiple sources, but also unintentional as this has been forming months before I was actually aware of the possibility of having a team together, united in vision, in support of me and my dreams, yet gaining for their own as well. It was beautiful. Dreamy. Life Changing. Breath-taking. When I turned around one day and saw each special person gathered around, each special horse right there in the arena with us, I could feel their love and passion and support run through me. I had to stop and take a picture (this isn’t a norm for me) to pause in time this special moment with these special people. I am blown away and so grateful I get to live my life with these people, even if only for a few days at a time.

     

  2. Dreams, Passion, Pursuit without Compromise: By day two, Pippa and I were belly laughing while realizing just how crazy this dream is. I noticed that my brain needed to catch up to what Yah was doing. Slowly, by the end of the week, it did. I mentioned that brave Nicole had to keep marching forward to the dream and vision while dallying up to scared Nicole and toting her behind. I hoped that by the end of the clinic they would be at least a little more united. They were. I am now both brave and settled, seeing the dream and vision and being able to look past the outside “craziness” of it all knowing in my heart of hearts that this is what I am called to and there is actually nothing crazy about it.

     

  3. Rip a Run: During the first dinner after a day of riding, we had a round table discussion. Each person had to answer two questions, one of them was: “What would the best possible outcome to the clinic look like?” I had a few things about healing, catching scared Nicole up to brave Nicole, but mostly, I wanted to “rip a run.” I forgot for a moment I was surrounded by “not barrel racers,” so I had to explain what ripping a run meant and it became a famous line for the week. The last day came and we were anticipating that maybe it would be “time” to see that come to fruition. While building towards the run, I recognized my inability to “step in” to my right stirrup. My saddle would pull left going around the first barrel. There was nothing I could do to stop it. Teresa, my Somatics / Body teammate came to see if she could help and she pretty quickly recognized this wasn’t my body’s inability to move, it was driven by fear. Fear of failure. Fear of letting go. Coach Janet also helped me in this and we applied Mind Change techniques to help my fears face truth. It got better, so it was Pippa and I’s turn to put the work into action. We started working on our Terre-a-Terre*, which is, in the most basic form, a condensed canter that flows right into the pattern perfectly. Rocki and I were so close, but couldn’t quite get it. It was not long before I realized Rocki was just patterning after my body, and she was not going to do what I was trying to do until I got it just right. I mentioned this to Pippa and she said, “She’s a good teacher.” Yes, yes, she is. Little by little Pippa picked up areas in my body that were responding in fear. Shoulders, arms, pelvis, back. All in their own subtle ways were backing off when they needed to press in. As I started becoming aware of these body parts and their timid movements, I realized I had to be brave to correct each one. I had to be brave in every part of my body, and when I was, harmony happened. Unity. Peace. Gumption. Fire. It was time to rip my run. And Rocki was right there, waiting for the moment. I swapped saddles and gear and the anticipatory silence was deafening. Everyone around on my team, waiting on this moment not to just run a practice run, but to see the vision, dream, come alive. I almost broke the silence, trying to loosen the atmosphere, but I caught myself and realized this was special. It needed to stay.

     

  4. No Resistance, Total Trust: We ripped a run. I stepped full on into the turns, no fear, no hesitation. Rocki chose to wrap those turns tighter that I thought was possible but I let go and instead of trying to control, I just trusted. I said in my body and soul “I’m going with you, Rocki. I’m all in.” I have chills still just thinking of what that feeling was like. She ended proud. At ease. Total peace. We did it. We put it all together. But the crazy part is, I knew Rocki had it all along. She was just waiting for me to join her, and she was willing to wait as long as it took until I truly got it right. Getting it right wasn’t ever about perfection, control, or really even skill. It was about healing those places deep inside of me that still said “I can’t, I might fail, it’s too scary.” That was the block, and when removed, Rocki joyfully welcomed me into her world of possibility, dreams and truth. The thought of this while walking her to the pasture made me bawl. I am so grateful. When recapping the run with Pippa I shared how I could still feel the reins in my hand, there was no resistance. The feel never changed. We were never apart in bit to rein, but there was never a pull, only togetherness. The feeling still remains in my hands today. This is where it is at. This is what I want to share with the world. There’s nothing else like it.

     

  5. Pieces to your Puzzle Found in Everyone’s Puzzle: We got to share the week with other riders, with experts in Somatics, experts in Film production, experts in counseling and coaching, experts in riding, experts in mind change, experts in planning, experts in cooking, experts in every area it seemed. And by experts, I mean passionate people in their area of gifting with a heart for truth above all else. Every person played such an important part. And people united together in a big, crazy, but real kind of way. Each one received their own inspiration. Dreams were awoken and the courage to heal and step into the journey that awaits each one was ignited. It was beautiful evidence of what it means to walk your walk and let others be part of it. It’s not us against the world. It’s us with the world. Joining together our pieces and filling others with those same pieces. As we seek to findthe pieces that Yah placed in each of our hearts, we start to see that our puzzle is also connected to other people’s puzzles, and in the very end of eternity we will see this ultimate puzzle of Yah’s plan and vision for His children, all joined together. I don’t know what it will look like, but I know that in it we will see true compassion, unity, love, peace, harmony, fire, joy, and courage portrayed perfectly. I hope our pieces help fill in a few of yours and give you the courage to seek out where the other pieces to your puzzle are and who can help you uncover them, so together we can put this puzzle together for our Creator. My heart burns within me for this. Is your heart burning, too?

     

5 Steps Closer, thank you for coming along. 

Nicole & The Team,
Uriah, Kadima, Birdie, Blondie, Dean, Grace, Rocki, Salily, Shasta & Shmini

* Explanation of the Terre-a-Terra from Dressage Today: The fluidity and the correctness of the movement in-hand serve as stepping stones to transfer this to an under-saddle maneuver. It is also thought of as a very collected two-beat canter in which the hind feet and front feet move together to form an almost rocking-horse-type movement. This can be taught through half steps and through the piaffe or a very collected canter. (It is important that along with the collection of the canter comes balance and straightness. If the horse is lacking in either of these areas, he will not be able to establish a consistent threshold in which to project himself forward). These movements allow the horse to increasingly engage his hindquarters by bringing them closer to the ground while allowing his hind legs to become his center of gravity. For a brief moment the horse is carrying all of his weight on his hind legs with an extreme coiling of his haunches. His front legs simultaneously leave the ground. When his front legs return to the ground, he takes a very light and balanced step before he executes the movement again.

Eventually, the horse is asked to enter the terre-a-terre by sinking down in the back and rising in the front. This gives the illusion that the horse is sinking down into the ground before he springs up into action. This maneuver is a true test of the horse’s collection and balance. It is also a test to see if the horse truly is straight and obedient. When performed correctly, the terre-a-terre is a dazzling representation of the strength and agility the horse possesses.

New 5 Steps Blog Posts sent out (nearly) weekly. Not all are posted here, make sure to subscribe to enjoy all of them right in your inbox.

Spread the love
Nicole Kallstrom

Nicole Kallstrom

Nicole Kallstrom (Aichele) is wife to Uriah Kallstrom and a horse mom to 8 mares. Formerly a world record holding barrel racer, she enjoys cross training in French Classical dressage, natural healing philosophies and sharing her knowledge and growth with others through lessons, clinics and writing.

Leave a Reply

About Me

Nicole Kallstrom (Aichele) is wife to Uriah Kallstrom and a horse mom to 8 mares. Formerly a world record holding barrel racer, she enjoys cross training in French Classical dressage, natural healing philosophies and sharing her knowledge and growth with others through lessons, clinics and writing.

Recent Posts