Lessons from Goldie: What I Learned from My First Pony

Dennis Cappel
6 days ago
2 min read

Clear Mental Horsemanship with Dennis Cappel

I don’t remember everything that my first pony, Goldie, taught me, but one memory stands out vividly.

I remember telling my dad that I wanted to take Goldie to town to show her at a horse show. My dad hesitated and said, “I don’t think that’s a very good idea. You don’t really know what to do, and she doesn’t know what to do either.” Looking back I see my dad was telling me that I didn't have a "Clear Mental Picture!!

I reassured him, “Everything will be fine. She’ll watch the other horses and do what they’re doing.” I was confident, maybe a little too confident.

That was my first trip down what I now think of as Humility Road. My dad agreed to take me, and things were okay at first… until we got to the show ring. The moment we entered the ring, every horse that came within six feet of Goldie, she kicked at with both back feet. I ended up going around the entire ring, completely embarrassed, riding a little pony that kicked at every other horse.

From that experience, I learned my first lesson from Goldie: horses don’t just watch and learn from others, they couldn’t care less about what other horses are doing. All they care about is survival, and they’ll do whatever it takes to protect themselves.

Despite her stubbornness, Goldie was a lot of fun. And she taught me another important lesson: if you can survive as a kid dealing with a Shetland pony that isn’t fully trained and still love horses afterward, then you’re probably going to be okay doing something with horses for the rest of your life.

Those are a couple of the most prominent lessons Goldie taught me early in life lessons that I didn’t fully appreciate until much later. She was more than just a pony; she was a teacher in her own unique way.

Mindful Riding,

Dennis Cappel - Master Horseman

www.cappeltrainingandshoeng.com