Every Step of the Way

The mind messes up more shots than the body.

I thought so hard to not think this weekend. For those of you who know me personally, I think an awful lot. (John can confirm this) But this weekend I couldn’t afford to think. Before my first run in Midi Team Jumpers, a large wave of nerves hit me hard. So I sat down. I sat and I thought about not thinking, which may seem completely counterproductive, but really it worked. I took those deep breaths I’m always told to take, and I counted on my fingers in a repetitive manner. I was still nervous, but I was focused.  Someone somewhere decided to crank up the pressure during our team runs, with only 3 out of our 4 USA dogs running clean in each round. But I have to say I really liked the pressure. It made me not think even harder. I’ve always been told, mostly by Diane, that every step counts. To make every step count, you have to be present for each step.

Back when I first brought Jenna to nationals I used to “let go” of the run. I would get to jump 17, and I could already see the end line…except we weren’t at the end line, we were at jump 17. That’s where things would go wrong; I’d mess up a cue or under support a jump. I wasn’t handling the moment. I was handling to get to that finish line. I was thinking too hard about the next move or the next obstacle to cue what was needed in the moment efficiently. We lost a lot of runs because I was too busy thinking about the end result.

My motto this weekend was “It’s not over until the leash is on the dog.” 

I spent all four runs with “now” in mind. Every foot of the course seemed to be accounted for, and I knew exactly where Whimzy was. Beyond our success with the team, I am so proud to say Whimzy and I were fully connected for every step of every course. We did not put down the fastest runs, or the cleanest runs. Far from really, but we were functioning as a team. It’s a beautiful thing, to walk off the course feeling like a team. I can only hope that I am fortunate enough to feel so connected in the future as I did this past weekend.