Last evening I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful surprise 60th birthday party hosted by friends of mine in honor of a man who is deeply loved and respected by his friends and whose life has been shaped by his evolving relationship with the most tenderhearted of nature's creatures, horses. It's rare these days …
Tag: Horse trainer
The Elegant Solution
You know a book is going to be interesting when its preface is riveting. William Steinkraus' prefatory comments to Lt. Col. A. L. D'Endrödy's excellent work on equitation "Give Your Horse a Chance" provides powerful insight into how to be more effective in living. Steinkraus noted: "It is ironic that so many of the people …
Ask, Receive, Give
"Remember, the conversation between you and your horse must never be dull or inert. It should be, 'Ask, receive, give. Ask, receive, give.' Ask with your body and legs; receive through your body into your hands; give primarily with the hands, but also with your body and legs, so that you can ask all over …
A Team of Stallions
I had the good pleasure of attending Cavalia's Odysseo in Atlanta yesterday evening and the performance was riveting! Our tickets came with a tour of the stables and an opportunity to ask questions of the show's Equestrian Director, Benjamin Aillaud, and my thoughts this morning center around an answer he gave to a member of …
Kronos and Kairos
Kronos (Κρόνος) is an ancient Greek word meaning chronological or sequential time. It is measured by clocks, we tend to race against it and somewhere along the way we began to equate it with money. While virtually everything in modern civilization hangs upon this word, there is another type of time that is often overlooked, …
Perfect Practice Makes Perfect
I realized during a riding lesson today that the old adage "practice makes perfect" isn't always true. If you practice incorrectly, for example, you can spend a lifetime attempting to perfect something that is unattainable based on a flawed approach. Horseback riding is fraught with such possibilities, for it is one of those activities that …
The Purpose of Mankind
What would you say is the purpose of mankind? I had a fascinating conversation yesterday with a friend of mine about classical education, 18th and 19th century American history, the great pendulum upon which humanity seems to swing and finally, what we both do for a living and why. My friend, a classically trained equestrian …
Gregory Hake 