Jumping Past Cancer: A comeback story, part 2

Susan Corwin has one last jumping lesson with Susan Harris before attempting her first mini-horse trials back since beating cancer.

If you missed Part 1, read it here.

From Susan:

Well, after my dressage schooling last night, I decided NOT to take a dressage lesson today. There were way too many things I was doing wrong to fix in one lesson. I opted for stadium jumping instead.

Let me take a moment to tell you a bit about my surroundings. Susan Harris (farm owner, rider, trainer, friend) is my instructor. Now, when I asked her how she wanted me to describe her, she wanted me to simply say that she is a Certified Instructor with the USEA and the U.S. Dressage Federation.

She didn’t want me to point out that she is a Grand Prix dressage rider or that she has done Rolex. She preferred that I didn’t mention that she has taken many riders to successfully competing at the upper levels. She also would prefer that I steer clear of pointing out that basically every competition Spring Run Farm goes to, the Spring Runners do a lot of competing against each other, and it is a rare day when the big van pulls in and there isn’t a ribbon in every hand. So I will respect her modesty and leave that all out.

So back to my stadium lesson. It was awesome, but I’m very glad I took it. Monty can get pretty strong over fences and is good at talking you into riding with your hands and not your legs. He has a fabulous “go” button… I just have to remember to push it. I was reminded that I need to be the driver and not just a passenger. And I love riding with Susan because she will send you down to that “little” oxer (that is actually huge). I always jump way higher than I would on my own. It’s such a confidence builder, especially to know that my horse can do some pretty big stuff with ease. I have never felt like I have come close to what he is capable of. Good feeling! I am so lucky.

I’ll end this submission with a Susan Harris quote: “It’s a really good thing he moves so well, because no one would look at that fat horse twice if he didn’t.”

For more information about Susan Harris and her amazing program, go to www.springrun.org.