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How Horses Help Us Become Better People – A Four Part Series: Part One
By Steve Stevens
I often find myself telling a client who is having a rough time with a horse what a great opportunity they have to work on themselves. What a blessing the horse is for them, opening them up to endless amounts of self reflection. How exciting it is to become a better human through learning how to correctly communicate with the horse. As you can imagine, I get all sorts of first responses to this concept of horse/humanship.
Some of the responses are of confusion, frustration, anger, or even tears and heartbreak. I hear things like, “You don’t understand. I just want you to train my horse; I don’t need training” or I don’t need to work on myself. It is my horse that has issues.” I’ve heard, “You are not my therapist!” and I have also seen people look at me like I am crazy and wonder how quick they can get off my property. Sometimes I mention what a gift the horse is to help us work through personal issues and the client will completely break down. I imagine to some I am like a Kung Fu master trying to describe the Yin & the Yang.
After working with humans and horses for nearly twenty years, it is, in my humble opinion, that while working with horses, if they are not improving your ability to become a better person you are missing the boat. Unbeknownst to people, when I am working with the human or the horse, it has become my life’s mission to help with this process. To truly connect with the horse, we have to work on so many of our basic fundamental human skills. Number One—we must work from a place of Truth to have pure honesty about ourselves.
Allow the horse to teach you what human qualities need more work. Whether it is having more patience, nagging too much, needing more assertiveness, having more awareness, how realistic your expectations are, or how confident you are with your skills. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Stevens)
We have to admit our flaws, be truthful about our abilities and be painfully aware of our intentions. See, horses can read us like a book because their sensorial levels are so much more acute than ours, due to being a prey animal and having the ability to survive millions of years with the use of flight. They can feel our fear, anxiousness, and frustrations—most of all our intentions, even if we are not aware consciously of what they are, (due to distractions of the mind’s ego.) If you were dealing with another human and they were nervous, anxious or manipulating a situation, would you trust them? I know I wouldn’t and would get away as soon as possible. If a horse is in the same situation, without the constraints of being connected to a halter and lead, or in a stall or a pen, they will almost always choose to leave.
This is where the horse can help us work on ourselves. If you can admit your true emotions, you can work on those issues from the bottom up. This will help you focus on what areas truly need work, and will actually help build the relationship between you and your horse. So the next time you work with your horse, take a deep breath and ask yourself what you want to accomplish with him or her. Be honest with your emotions and fair to your horse.
Allow the horse to teach you what human qualities need more work. Whether it is having more patience, nagging too much, needing more assertiveness, having more awareness, how realistic your expectations are, or how confident you are with your skills.
Give yourself time for reflection and start working on these human skills that we all lack in. Someone might have said this before but my mentor Kenny Call said, “Let the horse be your greatest teacher.”
The Saint Jo Riding Club is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Saint Jo Riding Club Agricultural Scholarships.
• Saint Jo ISD Graduating Senior: $750
o Kathryn Sherwin
Kathryn Sherwin is a 2023 graduate of Saint Jo High School. She lives on a small farm in Montague and currently owns four Angus cows. In the future, she hopes to grow a small herd of both breeding cows and bulls.
This fall, she will be attending Texas Tech University majoring in Animal Science and minoring in Ag
Business. After earning her Bachelor’s of Science, vet school is her next goal. While in college, she plans to
continue creating western art as a small business. She also looks forward to participating in many internships and any other opportunities Lubbock has to offer.
• Saint Jo ISD Graduating Senior: $750
o Jerod “Kile” Thurman
Kile Thurman is the son of Clint and Denise Thurman of Saint Jo, and he is the grandson of longtime Riding Club members Ancil & Elsie Thurman. Kile has attended school in Saint Jo ISD since he started in Pre-K. He has been active in FFA, football, basketball, cross country, baseball, golf, track and One Act Play. Kile has served as the President of his class every year since 7th grade. He has been on the SJHS Student Leadership Team each year and is also a member of the National Honor Society. Kile has served as the Saint Jo FFA Chapter Treasurer for 2 years. He was a State Qualifier in CDE Cotton Judging. He has been a part of the award winning FFA Chapter Conducting team for 3 years. Kile enjoys playing sports and spending time with his family. He looks forward to attending Texas Tech University in the Fall to study Kinesiology.
• Area Graduate beyond Saint Jo: $500
o Casen Lynn Harris of Nocona ISD
Casen Harris is a 2023 graduate of Nocona High School. He has lived in Montague County all of his life. His parents are Andrea Nobile and Rusty Harris. He has 3 brothers, Cooper, 21, Kale and Kline, both 16. He attends Montague County Cowboy Church. He has been active in FAA raising pigs and sheep and participating in Livestock Judging competitions. He plans to pursue a career in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and Land Surveying. He will be attending North Central Texas College and then moving on to Tarleton State University.
• Area Graduate beyond Saint Jo: $500
o Anna Marie Becker of Sacred Heart in Muenster
Anna Marie Becker is one of five children in the Michael & Billie Becker family. She lives between Myra and Era on a small farm where her family raises cattle, chickens and ducks. She loves being outside and working with the farm animals, especially the ducks and cattle. She has been very active in 4-H for many years where she has shown dairy heifers. At Sacred Heart Catholic School she has participated in volleyball, basketball, track and cheer as well as being part of student council and the National Honor Society. She plans to attend the University of Alabama where she will study Kinesiology and Sports Broadcasting with a minor in Spanish. She would like to return to Muenster after college to run a Brahman farm and raise ducks.
• Saint Jo Riding Club Member / Legacy: $500
o Karagan Ritchie of Prairie Valley ISD
Karagan Lynn Ritchie of Nocona is the daughter of Randal and Laurie Ritchie. She is a graduate of Prairie Valley High School where she was active in FFA, FCCLA, 4-H, Texas High School Bass Fishing Association, Girl Scouts, and all available sports her school had to offer. She was a member of the National Honor Society, and recently accepted her FFA Lone Star Degree. She has had many achievements and honors in sports, Girl Scouts, and agriculture events. She loves showing her heifer in Texas major shows, and competing in High School Home Economics where she has won the Senior Sweepstakes in Montague County for four years. Karagan loves riding and competing with her horses Snicker and Twinkie, and she is wrapping up her two-year reign as Saint Jo Rodeo Queen. She plans to go to Midwestern State University to become a radiologist.
The Saint Jo Riding Club Agricultural Scholarship Program exists to provide scholarships to a high school graduating seniors interested in or intending to pursue a course of study in a college or university related to agriculture.
By Donna Long
If you are hankerin’ for home cooking just like grandma used to make with fresh ingredients, then look no further than Dixie House Cafe with locations in Fort Worth, Saginaw, and Euless. Dixie House, which was originally named Theresa’s Cafe after its owner, opened its first restaurant in 1983.
In the early days, it was just Theresa and one employee that ran the cafe. Between the two of them, they created mouth-watering meals from scratch using tried and true recipes. Dixie House is where the nostalgic vibe of a 60’s diner meets the charm of Southern hospitality and cooking. The portions are substantial, and the flavor is reminiscent of a time when meals were slow-cooked with families gathered in the kitchen and not hurriedly microwaved.
To read more, pick up a copy of the March issue of NTFR Magazine. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By Phillip Kitts
With most of America fighting off the winter blues and setting their sights on the warmth of spring, the rodeo world is already heating up. It is often common chatter about how the rodeo world really does not have an off season. In October when the regular season wraps up, it is not even a week before rodeo athletes start running to fall rodeos so they can start building up money toward the next year’s finals. It is true that fall rodeos do not have big payouts, but many athletes take the every dollar counts approach and throw several of them on the calendar.
November and December may be the slowest months of the rodeo year, but believe it or not, there are still plenty of places rodeo athletes can go and earn a small check. Traditionally the number of rodeos in the winter months is lower, but the few events that do happen tend to have big payouts. Pretty much every rodeo fan knows all about places like Denver, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Rapid City. These are all big scale events with huge payouts.
To read more, pick up a copy of the March issue of NTFR Magazine. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
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