After a busy few days around Steamboat Springs, our newly arrived crew leaders packed up their belongings and headed south for their final training session of the week. Just north of Silverthorne, we rolled into Blue River Horse Center, where we would spend the rest of the day.
The purpose of Blue River Horse Center (BRHC) is simple, and was explained to us by John Longhill, the founder and executive director of the organization. Through structured interactions with horses, BRHC aims to provide transformative experiences while teaching leadership awareness to their visitors. I was both excited and nervous about the opportunity – horses make me really nervous.
Horses are incredible in their ability not only to pick up on the emotions of the people around them, but to absorb and reflect those emotions. If you walk up to a horse with confidence, the horse will recognize you as the leader of the herd. Conversely, if you walk up to a horse with fear and nervousness, the horse will react with fear.
People are the same way, although the ways in which we influence one another are often unnoticed. By walking up to somebody with a smile or a head held high, we can unconsciously pass along that confidence or that joy. The way in which we approach any situation can spread throughout a group, and that’s especially important to remember when you’re leading a group. Over the course of a few hours, our crew leaders learned this lesson alongside a beautiful herd of horses.
As for me, I learned this lesson slowly, after struggling with a feisty miniature horse named Sugar. She fought against my control, bit at me, and eventually refused to move her tiny little legs. Nervous energy pulsed through my body, spread to her, and spun out of control until I threw the harness into the hands of one of our crew leaders. Overwhelmed, I was ready to give up on the activity.
On a more rational level, I knew this wasn’t the appropriate way to respond to any sort of conflict. And so I paused. I inhaled deeply and decided to dive into my discomfort once more, alongside a gentle horse named Alice. As we got to know each other, walking around and around an enclosure and through an obstacle course, I could feel my fear subsiding. There’s something really incredible about doing something you didn’t think you were capable of, and I found myself overwhelmed by feelings of awe and gratitude.
As the crew leaders move into the season and begin working, I can only hope they have similar experiences. This is what crew life is all about. Challenging perceived limitations, pushing outside of our comfort zones, this is how we grow. I couldn’t be more excited for the season to begin. Here we go!