New Year 2018 - What new adventures?

New Year 2018 - What new adventures?

Well, A Happy New Year! As 2018 starts, the New Year is always a time for reflection and motivation, right?  So, as I look back at 2017, what am I thinking?2017 was certainly a busy year, with several thousand lessons going on.  From a work point of view, it was pretty much what was ordered, lots of planes, bouncing around and more and more lessons.  It’s always great to meet new horses and their riders, see new issues and make more changes to help more partnerships grow.  I think (hope) that many riders continued on with having Ah ha moments, and there has certainly been some lovely feedback.My website continues to grow larger and larger, Luckily Sue, the lovely website lady, does all my techno stuff, since we all know I have a tendency to blow up anything that is plugged into the wall, or has a battery.  Give me a friend with four legs, not something with a screen…  I’m still always waiting to hear what you would like to see more of on the website – I’d love it to be your site more than mine…And overall, was it a year of progression? You know, there are some people who will tell you that they have 18 years of experience… But, you just know that they have 1 year of experience that they have repeated 17 more times. Their experience isn’t growing or expanding, they don’t learn more, push boundaries or challenge their learning or understanding… They learnt a set of skills, and by repeating the same job over and over again for that further 17 years, they have become ultra-proficient at what they do, but only what they do. While other people will tell you, they have 10 years of experience, but you know that they truly have more experience, because they push through situations, learning more, understanding their craft backwards, forwards and sideways. For me, 2017 wasn’t a growing year, but more of a repeating year. While many riders learnt or progressed, I am hoping that 2018 can be a more adventurous or growing year for me…So, what was new in 2017?  The only new country visited was Italy for our annual yoga and riding retreat.  Lucca was certainly stunning, although Rome was slightly underwhelming…Adventure wise – well, there was a tree top rope course in Brisbane for starters, and a different view of London after that, including nitrogen ice cream…  Of course, there is always a lot of food adventure – dragon’s breath cookies in Singapore, Tartufo in Rome, fresh figs in Lucca, and so many cakes all over the world!  Meeting new people, but plenty of room for more challenges!Horse wise, working with reining Quarter Horses in Natal was a fun new project and of course spending three days at Sharon May-Davis’s equine dissection was an incredible experience.What is the plan for 2018?  Well, hopefully a lot more travel as a tourist rather than only seeing arenas and airports!  A plan to take more tourism days and a lot more adventure.  Also, continuing on with building the Kuda Guru website, bigger and better, and learning some new skills along the way would be good….  Of course, lots more pony playing and lessons, wow, it looks as if it is going to be a busy year?What are your plans for the year?  Hope it’s a good one!