"Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps." David Lloyd George

I like the word "if" in this quote. How many times do we take a big step -- like moving up a level in the show ring or learning new dressage movements, etcs. -- when we really ought to be focusing on mastering what we're doing right now? I get caught up in that sometimes. I think to myself "Oh, I should be riding at this level," or "Bear and I need to do this by the end of the summer," when in fact the healthiest thing for both of us would be to continue taking the baby steps indicated while we grow in confidence together, and have fun.

We did take a big step in November 2007. Bear and I went off property for the first time for a lesson with Belinda Trussell at Oakcrest -- just a 15-minute trailer ride away. Now, I really didn't know what to expect from Bear, although I knew that he had been in a more relaxed frame of mind in recent months. I also didn't know what to expect from myself, for that matter, but somehow I knew we were both ready to take this big step. I didn't know how he would be about getting on the trailer; I didn't know how he'd act at another venue ... I just didn't know. But, I knew a big step was indicated, and so we took it. And it went beautifully. He was confident with me; I was confident with him. We had a fabulous lesson. Bear spooked only once, but even that wasn't a big deal. It was a banner morning for Shakespeare and his gal which left me feeling good about the progress we had made in the previous year and a half.

Now we are back to baby steps -- continuing to follow our path together, one paving stone at a time, til at some point we are ready for the next big step -- either another lesson or a clinic or something like that, off property. Showing? Certainly, but we're in no hurry. We'll take the big step into the show ring if, and when, it is indicated.