Learning To Dance

This weekend was gorgeous in the PNW. 70 degrees and sunny- it just convinced me to stay a little longer.

I got to witness inspiration on Saturday at my friend's dance competition. Even though I laughed at her, dance competition is a lot like horse shows- so as funny as it all was, I got it. There was one thing I did see, though, that I haven't seen at a horse show in a long time.

At the table directly to our right, was a woman instructor who had 3 young girls with her- ages 7-12 I'm guessing. Her name is Lynn and she's from Dance Workshop. I sat there in awe of her all day- as she took each of those girls into their dance heats- between ballroom, latin, american rhythm-spinning and twirling- laughing and smiling- making the experience so positive and fun for those kids. Honestly, the woman must love her job- and if she doesn't- she sure fooled me. She's everything you'd want in an instructor and more- her passion and genuine love shone through every single move. The kids lit up, they had a great time. It wasn't about competing, it was about having fun out there.

How many instructors in the horse world emulate that? Seriously, they may SAY they do- but at the show- do they really walk the walk? I am reading Temple Grandin's book Animals in Translation- and in it she reminds us that real horseback riding is much like dancing- its a relationship. That rung really true for me this weekend. How many of our instructors are dance instructors like Lynn? Maybe they have to be less jovial and more powerful because of the risk of adding a few 1200 lb animals into the mix- I don't know. But if I were a parent, I'd sure try to find an instructor as close as identical to Lynn O. from Dance Workshop. Heck, I'd probably send my kids to her just for the experience of having someone so influential in their lives- who cares about the subject matter. Learn to dance right from the start.

Anyway, that was my Saturday. The horses didn't get much TLC that day- but they did enjoy the weather- and got to get their new summer coats nice and dirty. So much for having a white horse.

Sunday started off with dress trying-on and my MIL's. Punjabi dresses- Sari's, etc. very complicated stuff, and I had a good laugh. We're going to Canada this coming Saturday to get my own outfits for this wedding- I've never been to Canada, so I'm excited. On that high, I took the horses out for a mile walk in the sun with the fiance- it was so nice!!! Hopefully I got a little tan, gonna work on it again today, LOL.