Get Back On Your Horse
March 21st, 2008
By Sharalee Fraser
We stood behind our stable, ready to ride. I put my foot into the stirrup and started to swing my leg over. Suddenly, she bolted! I fell to the ground underneath her. Annie ran over the top of me, knocking the wind out of me and kicking me in the leg.
Annie was my first pony. Dad was teaching me how to ride her, but as we were a bit busy, I didn’t get to do it often. This particular Sunday morning, Dad had helped me to saddle her up. I was looking forward to an enjoyable, relaxing ride—but that’s not what I got.
After an experience like this, you would expect that I would be really scared. And I was! But anyone who has been horse riding knows there is one important rule: If you fall off your horse, you need to get right back on!
If I had never gotten back on Annie, then I would never have gotten over my fear. So with a bit of encouraging from my parents, that’s exactly what I did. After falling off my horse, I learned not to give up.
This is a principle we can apply in all areas of our lives. Get back on your horse means more than just getting back on your horse! It means whenever we reach a rough spot in our lives—maybe we tried and failed something, or suffered a major disappointment—whatever the case, instead of dwelling on our problems, we should try again.
When a rider gets back on his or her horse, the focus is on riding, not on the fall. If the rider is worried about falling off again, the horse can sense that in his or her body language, and is more likely to be afraid as well. Instead of being afraid, the rider should focus on calming the horse and going for a ride. This way, both horse and rider relax, and both are more likely to enjoy the ride.
In our lives, if we focus on the negatives—the fact that we made a mistake, or that something didn’t work out right—the chances of a good result the next time around are slim. If we relax and focus on the positive, then we are thinking more clearly and we are more likely to accomplish our task the next time around. As Thomas Edison said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
After my scary and painful fall, getting back on Annie was the best decision I could have made. Since then, I have owned several more ponies and horses and taken riding lessons (that’s me in the picture!)—even winning ribbons in a show! I love horses, and have no fear of them whatsoever. Thanks to Annie, I was able to conquer a fear, and now I enjoy all the benefits of making the right decision!
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Hey Shaz,
That’s a pretty awesome article! Good writing!
March 22nd, 2008 at 6:22 pm
this was a great and very up lifting articale.. thankyou sharalee…
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:44 am
Hey Sharalee, way to be the first teen to have an article appear on the website. It’s a good article too, a lesson that anyone can learn from and that we all need to be reminded of every now and then. And way to use a Thomas Edison quote. I personally am a big fan of quotes, esp. from great men like Edison who it took more than 1000 tries to make the light bulb. Anyone with that much dedication to something is worth quoting. Speaking of which, here’s one by Theodore Roosevelt which I think is also very encouraging:
“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”
Keep up the writing!
March 23rd, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Hey this was a really good article!!! You write really good as well!!!
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Hey, really good article, Sharalee! Thank you! And cute picture!
March 24th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Great article Sharalee.Thanks, this is probably one of THE most important character traits we need in this fight!
March 24th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
nice work
March 25th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Very encouraging article Sharalee for young and old alike! It’s awesome to see you writing - keep up the good work.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Sharalee, looks like your article is a hit! Looking forward to more from you!
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
This really puts a meaning to the saying “Get back on your horse”!
April 15th, 2008 at 5:18 am
Sharalee, i’m impressed. I loved your article.
Keep up the good work
April 15th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
love the article! It’s a great lesson that I hope I–and everyone else will carve into their minds
April 20th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Very, very true! Having ridden (and fallen off) horses before, I can relate to this. Great job Sharalee!
April 21st, 2008 at 2:03 am
hey sharalee!! great article!! i really loved it…looking forward to hearing more from you. keep up the good work!!
April 21st, 2008 at 10:32 am
That’s my girl! I’m so glad to see your article on the site. Keep writing! I hope your good example will inspire more teens to send in articles, too.
April 22nd, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Thanks for the article. I was encouraged by it.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Hi Sharalee,
Great article! It really puts in perspective what we should be doing today in these end times. Good on you for being the first teen to write an article on this website.
May 18th, 2008 at 5:59 am
Hey Shaz!!
Very good article - thank you so much for a well needed reminder of a very important lesson. Keep writing; I look forward to reading more of your work!
May 21st, 2008 at 7:49 am
you are RIGHT.
there are many times in my life i just wanted to give up, and crawl into myself, and not face things. Especially as a teen. When i just got up and faced it, i found out it wasn’t so bad. the worst part is the fear before you do a thing.If you never face it, you must carry that fear the rest of your life. When you face it, you lose that fear. WHAT A MUCH HAPPIER WAY TO LIVE!
God’s laws really do make us happy.
Wonderful article!
May 31st, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Hey Sharalee,
I ran into my parents van and knocked off the hub cap and then proceeded to run over my mom’s flowers. I went crying to the house but my mom said, “if you fall off your horse you have to get back on.” I can now mow the lawn quite well.
Great article, I enjoyed reading it. I remember going through a similar experiance. The first time I mowed the lawn (I was probably
June 21st, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Hi Shara! great job! Keep up the good work! From your lil’ cousin.
July 20th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Well, I don’t know you, but you left me a good advice on taking things. Get back on your horse is a really good article, especially that you are still a teen. Thanks for inspiring the Philadelphian youths as we read your nice article. More power to you.
August 11th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
this is truly an amazing and inspiring article
August 12th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Very inspiring article Sharalee!
Keep up the great writing.
September 9th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Great article Sharalee,
I can definitely relate to falling off horses since I fell off one this last Sunday. It was only my 5th time riding a horse. Also, as I fell, my foot got caught in the stirrup and she drug me around at a full gallop till I could get my foot out.
But I definitely agree with you! I want to get back on as soon as I’m not so sore!
January 2nd, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Great article Sharalee! Keep up the good writing!