Falling off the Horse

"I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity... If knocked down, I will get back up, every time."

U.S Navy Seals


The credit for today's post goes to my daughter who agreed to share the video clip at the bottom of this message. The video was shot on St. Patrick's Day, her "sweet 16" and her present was a total surprise. My daughter was convinced that owning her own horse was years away due very limited funds. Her trainer, Debbie Bray, presented us with a plan to adopt "Wes" and the plan included putting my daughter to work for her.

Wes measures sixteen hands which makes him a giant among his peers. He was donated to Debbie when it appeared he could no longer jump. Debbie discovered that his problem was in his hoofs and with TLC she helped Wes make a full recovery. He needs special O-shaped shoes and they need to be cleaned regularly.

Wes is spunky. He also has a fear of large cameras. He has thrown my daughter off of him a couple of times. The most recent accident happened in front of a crowd during one of her first horse shows as Wes's new owner. My wife shrieked as we watched our little angel hit the ground hard. She paused for a moment, dusted herself off and got right back up on her horse!

This act of courage made me think of all the times I have fallen in my life (when you are in sales, this happens daily). Some falls are worse than others and the way I handle a fall is critical. My daughter is my example, when you fall, get up. When you fall again, get up again. You only fail when you stop getting up.

Wes is part of our family now. I thank my daughter's trainer for her big heart, she made Nicole's 16th birthday a dream come true. If you live in my town and need a trainer, look Debbie Bray up. You won't find a more passionate person than Debbie and her husband, Mike, completes the team.

As you watch this video clip, keep in mind that my daughter has no idea what is about to happen. I showed up to watch her ride on her birthday. This clip comes at the end of her ride and she is about to put Wes in his stall. There is a note on the gate that says "Happy 16th birthday, Nicole, today must be your lucky day because I am yours!"

Enjoy the home video and remember, no matter how many times you fall, get up, dust yourself off and carry on.