Question
Who inspires you?
Answer
Looking back over my career, inspiration was found by me when assessing my father’s use of violence against me. His abuse was the antithesis of everything that I wanted from my life. Inspiration however can come from negative experiences too, and his violence was so profound that it touched me deeply and caused me to vow to eliminate it from every aspect of my future.
My father’s early negative inspiration was followed by some very positive inspirational moments in the training of wild young horses they became my teachers, ultimately they became my providers and for the rest of my days they will be my friends. Horses were patient enough to allow me time to learn but demanding enough to charge me a high price for making mistakes, thus educational.
Sister Agnes Patricia, my eighth grade teacher supported the horses' plea for me to reject violence rather than seek revenge. She was a great teacher and augmented the lessons of the horses in a way that was indelible. Don Dodge, many times World Champion in Western competition was an extremely tough mentor who demanded perfection from me, never got it but kept trying.
Bud Heafey, a German Dressage rider, molded himself into an American English riding instructor who spent many frustrating hours with me in an attempt to create a better competitor in the English saddle. He was proud when I was victorious and very tough on me when I made mistakes. Neither of my inspirational riding instructors ever accepted the principle of Join-Up® and it was up to me to overcome that.
Sincerely,
