Brett Favre sort of, maybe announced his retirement again today, and regardless of how one feels about Favre personally, it is clear that he truly loves football and has an emotional attachment to it. That made me think about how many of us never get to participate in the sports we love again once we hit a certain age.
Most boys who grow up playing football love the game. They may start as young children and dedicate countless evenings to practices in order to get better. Weekends are devoted to games where the boys gain a sense of achievement and get their football fixes. Over the years, they advance in skill and eventually probably play for their high school football teams. The sad thing is, once the last game of their senior year ends, the vast majority of those boys will never play in a football game again. Sure, they may play a game of pick-up here and there and maybe participate in an intramural league during college, but let's face it, their careers end with high school.
The same is true for most participants in all major team sports. It seems a shame that activities that teach children valuable lessons about teamwork, practice, winning, and losing are so easily cast aside when those children reach adulthood. I'm sure most former athletes miss their sports from time to time as they move through their adult years.
I am fortunate to have grown up loving a sport that is not necessarily off limits now that I am an adult. As an equestrian, I could potentially continue to ride horses until I am too old to mount one. At the moment, owning or leasing a horse is prohibitively expensive for me, but there is a good chance that that will not be the case in the years to come. The odds that I will have a horse in my adulthood are quite high. At least I certainly hope so, because I frequently ache for the joys of riding and developing relationships with horses.
It is difficult to describe what it is exactly about horses that is so intoxicating for me. Part of it is just the sheer power that you control when you are guiding one. A well-conditioned horse is basically a couple thousand pounds of pure muscle. Feeling that tremendous strength moving below you and responding to your slightest touch is exhilarating. Moving through the world at nearly 40 miles per hour while sitting back and trusting a gigantic animal to keep you safe is an experience that you can only get from riding horses.
Often in my dreams I am sitting forward in two-point and feeling the impact of each hoof as it hits the ground while some churning gelding and I gallop through the fields. As often, I dream about spending time on the ground with various ponies and horses from my past, just petting and grooming and talking to them quietly.
The emotional and-- dare I say spiritual?-- connection I have shared with my horses is as important as the joy I experienced at being on their backs. Just the knowledge that this animal could seriously injure or even kill you at any moment but that he chooses to obey you instead is heart warming. Horses develop true and honest emotional connections with their owners and riders. The first time you convince a horse to do something he is scared of, simply because he trusts you to guide him to safety, is like watching a child take his first step. Horses are capable of tremendous love and trust, and they make sure that their owners feel that.
Not many days go by where I do not think about horses from my past or plan for my horses of the future. Riding was a constant part of my life from the age of three until I left Maryland after high school. Even since then, it has never been far from my mind or heart. I cannot wait until my life has reached a point where finding a new horse of my own would not be financially suicidal. When that day comes, I will pour my heart into that animal, and I know he will return the favor.
