REGINA

Today I talked to Regina.

I am driving north of Los Angeles through a dry winding canyon. The afternoon sun makes the hills golden and bronze. A horde of Harleys passes me with a loud roar. I reach the equestrian center. Today I am getting my first horse-riding lesson. The place is intimate and simple. There is a stable with chicken running around, a donkey, and a few dogs. Two big Retrievers escort me from the gate to the stable. Regina, the instructor, is here. Right away she stands out as an energetic woman with an unusually expressive face. She speaks loud with a slight German accent and makes signs with her hands to illustrate her thoughts.

Regina starts the lesson, skipping the greetings and the formal introduction. "In order to ride a horse, you have to discover yourself," she says. She bends her knees and moves her arms in the air. "You have to find your core balance so you can dance with the horse." She brings me to a box at the far end of the stable. "That's Gypsy. You'll start with her," she adds. Gypsy is a medium-sized chocolate brown mare with white spots on her back. She walks towards me to smell my hand. I hand it to her. The air coming from her large nostrils is warm. We enter the box and Regina shows me how to put a bridle around Gypsy's head. She explains that riding starts on the ground, therefore I will not ride a horse today. She is concerned that I might be disappointed, but I am not. I have been dreaming of doing this for years. The simple fact of being here is amazing.

We walk towards a sand circus next to the stable. The nature around us is wild and beautiful. Regina commands Gypsy to walk and then stop. But the horse does not look thrilled with the challenge at all. Regina really listens to the animal. She adjusts her energy to it and translates the horse's thoughts: "She said it's boring." Regina continues to explain. "You have to learn to talk to you horse. It's like dance or music, you have to feel it." Gypsy gets obedient. Regina scratches the animal's back to reward her and turns to me: "You have to become an Alpha horse. Now we are in a technological world, cut from our instincts and our bodies. But horses don't know this. They're still totally connected to nature. So you have to guide them, nurture them into this world that can be frightening to them," she says. She shows me how to hold the reins softly in my hands. "The horse is not a monster, you don't need to hold it really tight," she adds. She makes the face of a monster, bends her back and crooks her fingers. I take the reins in my hands. At first it feels easy and I assume that the horse will follow like a dog would. But I realize how different and sensitive that animal is (and also much heavier). Regina stands next to me and captures every single change in my posture or my thoughts. "Riding a horse is body language. How can you guide someone if you don't know where you're going?" she asks. I guess, at this moment, something clicks in my head. Suddenly Gypsy follows my commands. Regina takes some distance and cheers us from the other side of the fence. The challenge escalates: I guide the horse to the center of the ring, then we walk to the right, and I make Gypsy stop and walk backwards. I feel it. For a second, we are dancing.

Regina continues to explain her way with the horses. "My husband and I prepare our young horses during weeks. But when it's time to put a saddle on and have someone ride them, it takes us only three days." Her goal is to avoid any brutal methods. In her opinion, the horses should feel as little pain or discomfort as possible. "Horses are energy and mother nature. They're beautiful, they're life." She pauses. "Horses are life," repeats Regina. Our forty-five minutes session has lasted twice longer. Regina is too passionate to look at her watch, but I have to leave. We bring Gypsy back into her box. Before I go, she warns me: "Other horses with different personalities will show more resistance. Be prepared!" A stallion neighs loudly as to approve of these words. "I look forward to it," I answer. "You don't know what you're getting into." exclaims Regina. Her loud generous laughter fills up the stable. And the rooster echoes it proudly.