The New Ride is a name for what is unnamed as yet. A miracle unveiling itself so gently, so perfectly through deep dialogue with the herd. I haven’t written a blog post while this miracle has been conceived and is beginning to germinate. I have not felt ready to share. Now that the moment has arrived it is very exciting. After five years of going deeply into the listening process with the horses, things are clicking into place. The process is alive of course, a perpetual growth, and I had to become what I was seeking enough to be able to see it, to begin to understand it…

Up Until Now

Accessing The Dialogue

When I was ready to let everything go as far as I was aware, expectations, routines, methodologies etc.. I began to be able to hear the dialogue with the herd. This dialogue is a magical thing. Like a shimmering veil of energy that gentle covers us when we are together. Millions of little vibrating threads, seeking to bring us together.. our conscious awareness. Often the deepest truths don’t reach me until later. Yet there is something so powerful, so fundamental, like a great river perhaps, that flows without pause. If I can be still I can hear it, and the clarity is astounding.

I started with no equipment, just us, our meditations. And as time went on I felt we were ready to revisit the equipments, the head-collar, the bridle, the saddle. We had some quite magical experiences. We healed associations, we discovered reverence.

The End of the Old Path

Quaramba is the only one in the herd who is (relatively) untouched in terms of traditional training. Every time we reached a threshold moment where she would baulk, I backed off. So in this gentle way, which took us six or seven years we got to the day when I sat on her. She was deeply calm, she was present, and she was also submitting, in a state of acceptance. It was very beautiful, and yet… there was something missing. Looking back I can see this now. 

Life has intervened at intervals and served as a perfect influence to keep us on track, our soul track, as a herd. In these interim periods I have been continuing to awaken and sensitise to the greater picture, and the wisdom the horses have always dwelled in. Over time I began to notice that Quaramba would accept the head-collar happily, but she said no consistently to the cavesson.

I began to understand that she was not refusing the piece of equipment itself, but the entire idea of equipment.
Her vision came to me… I was asking her to enter a thorny forest where the path would gradually narrow, the bushes would take over and the light would fade completely. Eventually we would be stuck and unable to return.

The Realisation

After a meditative process a few weeks after this vision it suddenly hit me, and the thought kept expanding and glowing and gaining light and power. This is what the herd has been communicating! They don’t think of it in patterns of thought, they don’t explain it or theorise about it, it is simply what fits. What aligns with them, what makes sense, what can be grown and expanded. What generates love and brings us closer together.

Yes we can work together, yes we can train, yes you can ride us. We will teach you, we will absorb you and envelop you into the herd. Without constraints, without equipment, without defined spaces, just us and you. Just you and us.

The enormity of this took, and is still taking some time to ripple itself out fully and sink in. And the joy in the herd when I was finally able to understand was so intense we bathed in it for a long time.

The Gateway

Our Covenant 

The herd make it clear, they somehow expose the answer, and I was able to access within myself, within my source, their truth. They wish that I connect with them without any form of manipulation of them or of the circumstances.

So, that includes the arena or singling out or shutting in, the manipulation and equipment, so no equipment no physical object that will conspire, that will control, that will alter or even channel in any way the relationship between us, and there is such power in this. The power is revealing itself, unfolding in such a magical way within me. I’m becoming awakened to it I can feel the potential. 

So this connection can be riding, although perhaps we need a different term. This is welcome. To become One physically without manipulation. This is still to unfold in the way it needs to. There will be nothing but me and them liberated as a herd, and there feels to be a process of understanding, not so much learning technique but a process of bonding. So there will be a becoming with the herd. This is always an issue that I am not agile/powerful enough to run with the herd, and yet there is this magnificent possibility of being one in this New Ride, without control or trying to fit this into any pattern that’s gone before any idea or technique or process and in this there will come such a deep balance, such a magnetic connection. 

The 30th of December 2021

The Harmony of Mutual Comprehension

And the sun is really shining on me now as I say this. I can feel the heat of it in such a good way. There will be this expression purely through our energetic reception of each other yet embodied 100% physically. So it will be a physical expression, a physical manifestation, and there’s so much potential here for Honey and Rafi and Aimee and Totti. So now in this rule free pure expression of one herd I feel there is great potential to understand, to develop and ultimately find the same connection with Quaramba because she has not been ridden, she has never worn a bit or been forced to move, she is pure potential. And Marie who is so sensitive, so ethereal.

There is so much here and this connection, right in this moment now. I’m feeling joy that the portal is ready. And I have listened. That is joy. I have understood. Not so much the conditions that they insisted upon, but the conditions they insisted did not apply, and I agree with them 100%. I agree that as we are stepping out into the new earth we need to step away from all the skins, and the walls and the rigid ways of before. So I’m feeling this with the herd, feeling into them and their response and they feel very satisfied. They feel very understood. I feel in harmony with them.

The 30th of December 2021

The Herd Takes Responsibility 

And there is no sense of fighting against, we’ve been fighting against this current of introducing the equipment and introducing the arena and it just wasn’t right. And finally, finally I understood. Quaramba , persistently declining, declining the cavesson, declining that that which indicated, that which took us further and deeper into the tangle. Into the thorny wood of conditions, of tradition of how it has been done. She quietly quietly declined to follow that route. So there’s such a sense of potential here. Of this Growing Power. And I feel that all of the challenges that I have truly wanted to face or understand in myself will be given space, will be given opportunity. The fears about being in control because there will be no control. Yet giving myself, my safety, my security, my ability to defend myself, giving that entirely to these beings. 

I know there will be no danger and I can feel this confirmation in the herd right now when I say these words. I know they will embrace me, I can feel them right now. And they can only be given this power, they can only be given this responsibility, this opportunity when there is no possibility of manipulating their choices. Of manipulating their expression of themselves.

The Horses Are Ready 

So, we are just sitting and feeling this excitement of something growing, of something that is gaining a momentum. That we will be taken in the river, we will be taken on this wonderful ride and we don’t need to worry, we can’t control it but we know that the water flows from our desire, from our wish, from our deepest  choice, deepest instinct, deepest vibration to connect and to discover the power of each other on this earth in these bodies. It is in these bodies, this physical nature is everything for us now.

Here in this herd in this place, this is our joy, and we feel that we need do nothing. We don’t feel a need, we don’t feel pressure we don’t feel forced in any way. And yet this joy is building, this joy. And we’re preparing, I can feel my physical body preparing, the cells. The horses on the other hand feel ready. Ready Ready Ready. They have been motivating, generating, agitating, vibrating for this outcome for some time.

Time cannot really be applied to this quantum leap, so this feels perfect. Wow there’s no need for organisation, what is known is that our centre is energy and that is our path and that we are deep in dialogue and that I have listened and that we are in agreement, full agreement and that all is well. All is so deeply well and that is more than enough. 

The 30th of December 2021

The New Path

The First Day of New Ride

The doing part of this process has been minimal in comparison to what feels like vast fields of energetic circuitry generating and functioning and creating in ways that bring us into each interaction perfectly. I bought a mounting step so I would be able to get on more easily and they arrived surprisingly quickly, like a sign that we were on track. Yet days passed, maybe weeks between the arrival of the steps and when I felt ready to introduce myself to the herd as their student. The emphasis would still be on our dialogue and following that within our energetic connection.

Today felt like the first day. Yesterday I felt the vortex opening for it, very powerful and adventurous and then today it just felt right and Honey was waiting. She wanted to examine the steps, at first she showed concern that they might be against the regulation of no equipment. I feel now that she is quite happy to start, and now I feel like I’m following the herd and they’re quite dedicated and know where they’re going, still grazing, but they’re  grazing their way up out of this field, particularly Rafi is leading and Honey is following, so I definitely get a feeling that I’m following.

The 17th of January 2022

Recalibrating Our Relationship

Then tuning in a little closer I could feel that there is a process of recalibrating, calibrating our new relationship together, is how it feels… a hierarchy, in a way it feels like a hierarchy, but maybe more of a shape that we are going to find together. Quaramba is moving into the tunnel with Totti, Marie and Aimee, this feels like a necessity, to acknowledge where we’ve come to over the last several years. This energy, this vibration now of the herd, that is so fresh, so potent , so miraculous in itself. Just feeling the buoyancy of that energy right now and understanding that it will always be our platform.

Aimee just came to see the steps, and Marie and there is a mutual understanding. Understanding that the new relationship will grow with what we do together. So it can’t be defined right now, that it is born out of this accomplishment as a herd that we’re just bathing in this right now, that feels really good, really fulfilled, really filled up, just allowing the enoughness. Allowing the enoughness to be felt and to inspire what comes next. 

The 17th of January 2022

The Faith Bond Is Born

Just sitting with this, starting  to feel a strengthening sense of pulling together, of something forming, something gathering like a leverage or a bond, a faith bond. Just going into this pure energetic awareness, it feels exciting, feels like there’s potency here and the little birds are coming, the pied wagtails, it feels like they’re attracted to this energy, to this bond, this very powerful feeling, here’s Gracie attracted as well.

There is a sense of expectancy in the air, Gracie is expectant, so it’s coming into my mind just being here in the herd that this bond energy is a kind of assignment. That it needs to be revisited, engaged, strengthened. It’s about strength, amplification, building, construction, and this is enough for now. It feels almost like Honey is saying this is the homework, this is your way in, this is your connection, this is your road, your path, your gateway. This is the assignment, and it feels nourishing, the bond, it feels a sufficient resource.

The 17th of January 2022

The Faith Bond

The faith bond is a vibrational state of being required of me in order to interact with the herd in this way. Any worry or anxiety or fears I might have about being so apparently vulnerable would be bypassed by focusing on this energy. It was not a case of not being scared, but of being trusting, of being willing to practice this feeling of faith as often as it took to go to the next stage. Of course it makes sense. How can they teach me if I am not in a receptive place to listen?

And there is another element to this faith bond. I have sensed from my first realisation that this would be the key to our new ride connection. How it would be possible to stay with the herd, to be held in place physically, and ultimately even to bring our interaction into a new realm. Imagine if we were able to perform together in complete absence of direct constraint and control, from thought alone? There is a physical, magnetic, almost structural element to this faith bond that will solder us together in this way. I was first introduced to this sensation when I felt it in a dream.

The Dreams About Faith 

The New Ride with Mojo

Some years ago, I had a dream where I was riding Mojo. He has now left his body and I can’t remember if he had done at the time of the dream or not. I was sitting on him without a saddle or bridle and he was galloping, stretching his neck out long, and what held me in perfect balance was this magnetic feeling of faith. Although he was going so fast, and even jumping and leaping, we were utterly one. It was a fabulous feeling and although I didn’t really consider that it could be more than a dream state at the time, I didn’t forget how it felt. And Mojo was saying in the dream, let go, allow, trust.

Support from the Universe Dream

More recently I had a very powerful dream. I was in some kind of vehicle, like a minibus with members of my family. It became clear that the van was going downhill out of control, and we were all in the back. The momentum made it impossible to get to the driving seat, and the extreme terror of that feeling of crushing, uncontrollable G force was very real. We were going to crash and there was nothing we could do. I remember people trying to hold the back doors shut, leaning their weight backward into the van.

Then somehow, because of the absolute vulnerability of the situation, I knew that I had to summon all of the faith I could. There was no time or possibility for anything else. Just faith, trust, belief, and gradually an incredible sense of peace seemed to align with a change in the landscape outside. Somehow the van found itself going uphill.

It was a beautiful wide, flat, uphill road opening out in front of us like a runway, and the van started to rebalance itself and slow down. At this point I was able to move into the drivers seat and take over the controls. Which was only an afterthought of course, as the van was already back in balance and slowing down. Then there was an amazing euphoria and joy, and the understanding that we are always supported, we are only asked to believe it, and receive the support without resistance. 

The First New Ride

The next time I took the steps out to the herd, things happened quickly. Honey came over and told me to get on her, it felt as if she was ready to show me some things. She was quite purposeful after I got on, and she started walking out across the field. I was breathing myself into the faith bond and focusing on listening to everything she might be communicating. The first thing that happened was Rafi came up, Honey had been in season and had been playing with him the last few days. He whickered, but she didn’t reply. She stood absolutely still as he entreated her to play. She didn’t whicker back or squeal.

Then Quaramba spied us as she was coming out of the barn, she was goggle eyed and went into her most extravagant big trot to come over and see what was happening. Again, maybe Honey felt some degree of uncertainty in me and she infused her whole body with a deep sense of calm. When Quaramba reached us, we said hello and then she spotted the steps and started to approach them cautiously. When Marie saw her reaction she filled up with excitement too, but the whole time Honey stayed placid with no sudden movements. She felt maternal, part of the herd, yet looking after me. I got off Honey when Quaramba started trying to destroy the steps, and I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the whole experience, those few minutes were enough.

Energetic Integration of the New Ride

Again there was a lot of energetic processing between our sessions. Maybe to allow the ripples of change to extend fully through our relationships, or even the whole equine collaborative. Although there is little to see in terms of performance, the shift in approach is profound. The horses have not only chosen to come on the court, they have asked for the ball. They are delighting in this journey as much as I am. They appreciate my attempts to grow and adapt to them, and I appreciate their honesty, their willingness to engage and to adapt to me. This is their element. There is something universal in our communication, and it passes directly through our physical bodies. 

The second time I arrived with the steps, I spent quite a while sitting on them, calibrating to the herd energy. Honey let me understand that I must be like a sponge. Absorb, receive, calibrate. When I felt a sense of peace, and enough-ness spreading through me, she strode right up and lined herself beside the steps. It was a strange experience. I had become a key and the lock appeared. And how she knows so precisely, so infinitely wisely what she is doing, who she is being. She is so aligned and just being in her vicinity is a gift beyond measure, and I get to sit on her back! The idea now of presuming I have that right seems so foreign, and I am so grateful that I have awakened to that. 

The Cliff Edge Portal 

This time Honey was a little more outgoing. It is hard to describe how present it feels to ride in this way. Every step is a practice in defencelessness.

Every movement is an expression of mutual trust, of collaboration, of that stillpoint between two entirely different creatures coming together in reciprocative offering. It is a cliff edge in the sense that nothing is preventable, and yet that cliff edge itself is the only way to open this safe space of togetherness. 

After Honey came to collect me, she walked around a bit, encouraging me to continue the calibration process. To be a sponge and absorb her energy, to become her body. It was extending the meditation into a biomechanical practice of seeking balance physically. Knowing about the magnetic connection from my Mojo dream helped me to tune into the feeling that faith reveals. The uphill, expansive, all is well equilibrium. I believe this was what Honey was showing me. The opposite of imagining what might go wrong, or feeling precarious or seeing threats. 

Within the Herd Perspective

Quaramba went to see the steps again, and just like last time, after she collapsed them she started to paw at them. It is funny because from my new perspective within the herd, I could really feel her immaturity. It wasn’t felt as a negative in any way, the herd are so proud of her, and they also recognise that she is young and still learning. Snow Kitty made herself into a decoy by rolling over and over close by to Quaramba, and eventually she left the steps alone to go and investigate her. It felt like everyone was helping!

After this Honey decided she was going out to the big field, I felt a bit dubious about being part of that. The others were trotting up, and she felt my hesitation instantly and stopped. Patiently waiting for me to get off. As the herd left there was a clear feeling of this new chapter being processed into the whole herd field, and subtly changing who they are and what is possible. 

How Perfect This Is

Part of the reason I have been waiting to share our latest discoveries together as a herd has been that I wanted it to gain enough momentum of its own, enough shape in itself, before it was exposed to an audience. It doesn’t need approval or even recognition and it doesn’t have to be anyone else’s path. Maybe it will open up possibilities in ways that will not even be visible at the surface.

It does feel so good to share it now. To offer the gift that this magnificent herd have blessed me with, to be seen by you. And to wish that the magic of it might light up your heart also, or remind you of something special inside you.

I used to feel there was some kind of sacrifice in letting go of riding as I knew it, and now I see that in letting it go, we were making space for something so much more beautiful, so much more authentic…this New Ride is so deeply filled with love without compromise. With unconditional trust. How perfect is this. 

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