Hovering Lightly and Burning Brightly

Hovering Lightly and Burning Brightly

(© 2018 Kip Mistral. Illustration “Holiday Time” by Heywood Hardy [1842-1933])

I dreamed this morning, literally, that I am wandering through a busy outdoor market. It is an old country market with much tradition, animals and all kinds of rustic things for sale by generations of people who know each other. They are friendly and chatty, and I find myself talking to many women who have spent a lifetime with horses. They all have different stories about their experience and I am struck with the richness of their memories. Naturally, being a journalist I start thinking what a fabulous article it would make to bring these conversations together in one place, woven together in a sort of tapestry.

I meet a final horsewoman and begin telling her about all these different women. She has an air of command, and shakes her head and interrupts me. “There is only one horsemanship,” she states firmly. “It is hovering lightly and burning brightly.”

With that I awoke and pondered for a moment. To hover is to suspend something. A beautiful light equitation and the relationship of equals allows the brilliance of the horse and rider partnership to come through. Lighten your seat, hover a little in your mind and your weight, and then your horse can float. Lighten your everything and then “we” can burn bright.

That’s what “hovering lightly and burning brightly” means to me. What does it mean to you? Please comment…

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4 Comments

  1. September 24, 2018 / 5:44 AM

    A place of trust….true friendship.

    • Kip
      Author
      September 24, 2018 / 9:35 AM

      Yes, indeed! xx

  2. September 26, 2018 / 9:39 AM

    To me the hovering lightly means a lightness of the mind…a willingness to listen to the horse and not impose our will. And the burning brightly means to me to shine forth with the truth of who each of us is, rather than trying to meet others expectations or definitions of us. Horses are always doing their best to get us to do that…only then are we their equals.

    • Kip
      Author
      September 26, 2018 / 9:52 AM

      Yes, Kim, and it doesn’t matter what the discipline is, or the saddle looks like, the lightness and brilliance starts in the human mind…

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