2 Star Junior Parelli Professional Lillan Roquet offered to have this blog, detailing her experience riding with Linda Parelli in Florida, posted here on Parelli Central. We hope you enjoy it!
The last few days have been all about filming! Upcoming Savvy Club DVDs and a few other exciting things are in the pipeline. I was lucky enough to be a part of it on many different levels, and as always, it’s a journey of self-development, isn’t it?! So, those of you Right-Brain Extroverts who want to commiserate with my ramblings, please continue reading. Everyone else… continue at your own risk!
My grey mare Damo and I were invited to be a part of some of the Savvy Club filming, which was really really exciting! I knew that I would learn a ton! Plus, whatever mistakes I made would only lead to bettering the world for horses anyway, as it gives more opportunities for learning. Not to mention being in the super capable hands of Parelli’s amazing film crew, director Neil Pye and Sue Shoemark, and being taught by none other than Linda Parelli herself! Most of the world would think this would be enough people telling me “you’re okay!”
The Parelli Media Crew, filming our Savvy Club Lesson.
The first day went fabulously, and I was playing in the Savvys I was less confident in. Damo was a rock star, acting like such a partner and hanging around all day. The second day we did a Liberty section. This is where my emotional fitness started to let me down. The first thing I noticed was that when Linda started asking me to do specific things or tasks, my focus caused me to lose my draw. What a surprise! One of the human’s mutual responsibilities in the partnership is “understand the natural power of focus.” So as my focus was divided, Damo began to not act like such a partner. Now, with hindsight I can analyze this with a clear head and realize that my liberty used to consist of me seeing lots of hind legs and tail straight in the air and a horse galloping away – AFTER she had busted through the round pen! So when I say that I lost our mental connection, I mean to say I had to use a lot of disengagements to keep her with me, because I lacked draw, because my focus was off, and I wasn’t being a good leader!
This was all well and good, and we kept it together and finished the filming. But I was pretty bummed and trying to kick myself in the pants and get back into an emotionally fit state! Not to much avail. Here was my Parelli Connect update after that session:
Lillan Roquet with Andiamo, (Liberty, 45 mins) Today we played with the weave at Liberty. Damo was AWESOME … My focus was really off 
. She did really well as long as I gave her my total attention … but when Linda started tasking us, I lost mental connection with Damo and then I had to use a bunch of disengagements to force the draw back to me! YUCK!
I spent most of the rest of the morning stewing, feeling like I didn’t do right by my horse because I wasn’t upholding my responsibilities. I felt like I kinda got myself together after lunch so I thought that I would go out and have a ride with Linda and all of the senior instructors here studying with her. And here’s what happened next:
Lillan Roquet with Andiamo, (Freestyle, 45 mins) Played with getting a forward canter today. She did better than she Has EVER done … so of course I pushed it . Too far. Lost her mind and she started spooking, and getting way impulsive … at one point I weighted my inside stirrup and my saddle slid almost completely off … I did an emergency dismount … but also had to pull on her face too much to stop and broke a bunch of her confidence in GOC.
Linda says I need to play with maintaining gait first (which should have been obvious to me: “maintain gait … then direction”). She suggested using the round pen, where she can go fast and I don’t have to steer. Then take her up for a lap or two, then bring her back to a trot, etc, until she gets more confidence and stays connected with the speed I want.
Damo, my wonderful horse.
As you can see, it was not my most successful ride! Again… into that terrible spiral of being disappointed with myself for not having more savvy and being a better partner, and then being disappointed for being disappointed!
So then came the realizations. I got home and just blurted it all out onto Parelli Connect. I almost deleted it, then thought, “No one will read it anyway,” so I left it up there. Then my brain came back to me. Writing all those emotions down, processing the disappointment at not being the partner I want to be to a horse that has given me SO much, caused me to start looking for theory. So of course in Parelli I could find so much to bring me back. That is where my realizations about focus, responsibilities (maintain gait, THEN direction) clarity of leadership, etc came from. And of course the realization: discomfort is learning!
So… I learned that knowledge can help us to find our way back into our comfort zone. “Frustration begins where knowledge ends.” And luckily we have this AMAZING program to help us out of our comfort zone … and then the theory to help us find our way back in.
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