Musings about One Way to Ride

I fell in love with horses early. When I was eight years old my father finally arranged for me to have riding lessons with Señor Martinez, the riding instructor at a college nearby. Unlike other riding instructors I knew about, he had us practice various balancing acts as our horses walked around the ring. Most impressive to me was the day he asked us to do shoulder stands on the saddle as the horses walked slowly around the ring—and, looking back, I have to ask myself now—could we have really done that? Riding is a metaphor for living—and there are many ways to ride.