And the worst thing possible happened. Tubby galloped at full speed and jump from one hill to another, missing the stream in between, while I was holding on to my dear life…
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A good summer in Toronto means, above 30 degrees centigrade. a group of friends wanted to do something different and decided, we are all going on a horseback riding trail, surrounded by meadows, then strawberry picking at an orchard close by. Odd combination, but hey! I just went with the flow.
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Off we went to St Clara riding school, a good 1 1/2hr drive, we were excited, we were singing, joking, and laughing along the way.
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We finally arrived. As we approached the stable, we spoke to the man in- charge, we were each assigned a horse, until it was my turn, I made sure I was last. I begged for a slow horse. I can’t remember the last time I was on a horse, as far as I remembered, someone was walking beside me. Yup, a very long time indeed. I was a bit nervous.
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He looked at me, with a twinkle in his eyes, and exclaimed! oh! looks like, you need Tubby. Tubby turned out to be a massive horse. As he helped me up, holding on to ensure I can get my leg on the other side. I was praying under my breath. I hope he’s slow, he’s massive. Holy molly! All settled, I was behind everyone, as we started strutting on our horses and getting into the grove. I tried to relax and follow along, single filed.
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Everyone kept talking, I was super focused on holding onto the reins and ensuring my feet were firmly secured in the stirrup. He must have felt I was nervous; he was moving slowly following along. Perfect! It was a beautiful place, trees, huge plants everywhere. I was able to take in my surroundings and started enjoying the ride and rhythm.
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It wasn’t long before. Lo and behold, 20 minutes into our grove, Tubby decided, it was too boring and galloped to the front of the group. I held on, with all my might, trying to pull the reins for him to stop. He finally did as soon as we were in front of everyone else. Bloody hell, he’s determined and has a mind of his own.
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True leader material. 😊 this is a horse with an attitude. But what just happened! Trying to recover as best as I could, with broken nails.
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Tubby had other plans, what was about to happen to this day makes me think, how did I survive. ☹
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We started moving slowly once again, towards what looked like a hill, I could hear the sound of water somewhere. There must be a stream. I was super focused, didn’t want Tubby doing anything spontaneous. As if, I had control.
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Suddenly! Without warning, Tubby galloped at full speed without stopping and jumped from one hill to the other. Everything happened so fast.
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I must have had the divine watching over me, WTF, I almost landed on the horn. Can you imagine what would that have meant! My whole life in front of me, I would have died.
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To my surprise and horror! I didn’t even fall, my hands were bleeding from holding onto the reins, I was cut, bruised, not blue but black on my thighs. I was in so much pain, and shocked, I was completely shaken but did not cry.
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I can’t remember how I got back to the stable, but once there someone helped me get off. My friends were super excited. Oh, they wanted Tubby. No one felt sorry for me. They wanted my adventure.
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I was still in shock! I could have landed on that horn, I kept repeating it. But no one felt it was that bad. I was badly bruised but boy! That was awesome, they kept saying excitedly.
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I was in so much pain but followed everyone. I didn’t want to be a party pooper. I continued onto the strawberry farm, while everyone was bending picking strawberries, I crawled trying to be brave and still managed to collect a basketful of strawberries.
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I never gave up, not because I’m brave or a sucker for pain. Everyone was having a great time and I didn’t want to spoil it with my moaning.
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What doesn’t kill you will make your strong.
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This story makes me think of the time when I started my business, I always knew I will never give up, I will look at every angle until it works.
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I have a lot of experience, wisdom, and knowledge of what it takes to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
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A great exercise, which I encourage my clients, is to make a list of all their accomplishments, which can be kept in a little notebook, or notes on your phone. When the going gets tough, you can be reminded of what you have done, It gives you the confidence to keep on going.
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Along the way, I learned to outsource work that others can do better and save time for myself to focus on my strengths. These days, as much as I pre-qualify my right fit clients, I also pre-qualify the right support I need to help me along my journey. Lessons learned from Tubby 😊
