SUS’ EARLY YEARS WITH HORSES

Horses have long been part my family. My mother was raised on a farm worked by horses, in Denmark, and was an adept horsewoman. As a young child I began with horses alongside my mother and two sisters, ranging on horseback over a vast wild territory, the last remaining native prairie in the Pacific Northwest, the Fort Lewis Reservation. The land seemed made for horses and exploration.

My early years of learning with horses included working my way through the riding levels at a local stables and a decade of serving as a whippers-in for the Woodbrook Hunt (The fox was a scent-soaked burlap sack dragged by horseback; no hunting or killing were involved.).

The hunts were testing and an intensive learning ground. On many a bitter Pacific Northwest morning, with rain and sleet pelting down, my twin sister and I would saddle and mount our horses under the shelter, steel ourselves against the weather, and head out with the hounds for a long day. Over these years we learned to pay attention, ride well, and work together with our horses.

Throughout this time my sister and I could usually be found working with our own and others’ horses, practicing cross country and stadium jumping, occasionally practicing polo, and exploring the reservation.

Along with the horses during these early years I gathered a good deal from a few knowledgeable horsemen/women, and especially from my sister, Viv, whose natural feel and understanding of horses continually inspired my own.

My approach with horses was also greatly influenced by my time working on a remote farm in British Columbia, and beginning to study yoga. Eventually I came to meet a spirited yearling colt on this farm who would become my greatest teacher and inspiration.