Most of us in the agriculture world were told multiple times throughout our childhood to “Get back on the horse.” Of course, this didn’t always apply to an actual horse, but anything we failed at – and trust me, I failed a lot – we were encouraged to try again. Now, in my childhood, this also OFTEN applied to an actual horse.

I’ll admit, I’ve not thought about this phrase much in recent years, but after getting slapped in the face with it this past weekend, I feel the need to share with everyone what reminded me, and how it applied.

Story time

I grew up riding horses. I started riding by myself at two years old, entered my first rodeo at four, and didn’t look back! I always joked that God made me a cowgirl because I was safer on the back of a horse since he also made me too clumsy to walk on my own two feet. My life was consumed with rodeo all through childhood, high school, and even college. Over the last decade or so, I’ve ridden less and less, and the rodeos I’ve entered have been few and far between.

Several factors affected this decline: I had less time to devote to rodeo. My priorities shifted. My energy was being put toward succeeding at my new job. I was more aware of where my money was going. My horses were getting older. Just one thing after another influenced my choice to ride less.

With this COVID-19 mess, I’ve been working from home for almost two months. That, in addition to gorgeous Spring weather, I decided it would be a great time for me to work riding back into my routine! I’ve not had the best luck with horses that last year – two have died of old age, and one went blind due to Leptospirosis – so that left the option of who to ride to one horse – JR. Also known as Colton’s horse.

Now I’ve rode JR several times over the years. He’s a great horse. JR is a big, stout gray horse that loves to frolic across the pasture, tries to play with the calves, and is a social butterfly. However, he’s not been ridden extensively the last several years. We’ve pretty much been in the same boat. So about a week ago I saddled him up, and was pumped about my first day back riding. I was going to call my mom next door to let her know I was riding (Safety First), but my sister called as I was about to get on. So with my headphones in, phone in my back pocket, and sister on the line, I mounted up. Less than 3 seconds after my butt hit the seat, my butt hit the ground. And my sister was impressed I didn’t miss a beat talking to her – haha.

I didn’t get mad. In fact, I had half expected him to throw me. He hadn’t been ridden in months, I couldn’t expect him to be a perfect angel the first day. So I tied him up, and waited on my mom to come up to the house in case I needed an in-person witness for round two. When I got back on, he was much better. We trotted circles for a while, and once I was confident in my ability to stay in the saddle, we rode out through the pasture for half an hour. We repeated this routine several times last week. No issues. I made plans with my best friend to come trail ride with me. We were super excited.

Kallen rolled up Saturday morning, one week after my first ride back, and I was saddled and ready to go. Colton came out to the pasture while we were getting ready to take off. Since he was out there, I had him hold JR while I got on. Just like the Saturday before, my butt was in the saddle maybe 3 seconds before JR broke in two. He hit several good licks, and then I hit the ground. We have no idea why, after a week, he decided to buck again, but he did. I had hit the ground pretty hard, but I wanted to get back on. I did, and eventually we left the catch pen to go on a trail ride.

We had made it almost all the way around the back 40 hay pasture. It was going well. JR was relaxing, I was as relaxed as I could be. Kallen and I were talking and laughing. Then, something moved. GRASS, grass is what moved. But apparently, when you’re already on edge, grass is enough to cause an explosion. Long story short, I ended up on the ground again, and Kallen’s telling me, “Maybe we should have just sat on the porch.” Hahaha! She made her way through the trees and got JR, and brought him back to me. I got back on. Third time in one week. At this point, I was thinking – Am I just dumb?

The Moral

I know why we’re always told to “Get back on the horse.” Sometimes its for us. When a little kid falls off the first time, if they don’t get right back on, the fear might become too great for them to ever get on again. We need to know its okay to fail, and to keep trying. We need to not give up. Sometimes its for the horse. They need to know they can’t get away with that behavior. If a horse bucks you off as soon as you get on, and you just turn him back out in the pasture. I can almost guarantee he’s going to do that every single time. It’s like rewarding bad behavior. Sometimes we don’t know why. I don’t know about you, but there’s a lot of times I do things, not knowing exactly why, only to understand later.

In today’s world of the Coronavirus pandemic (I know, I’m sorry, I’m tired of hearing about it too), we are all having to monitor and adjust.

Some of you might have lost your job – you got knocked down, but you’ll need to get back on the horse.

Some of you are having to learn a new way to do your job – don’t give up, get back on the horse.

Some of you are dealing with frustrated kids that don’t know how to handle their new world – teach them to get back on the horse.

You never have to stay down. It might suck. In fact, it probably will. You might be sore. I know I still am. You might just not want to. By the third time, I definitely didn’t. But never give up. Always keep going.

Always, get back on that horse.