Simple, but not Easy

Sometimes working as co-director of the school here along with Craig Stevens can be a bit daunting. I’m not blind to my own attributes, I don’t need reassurance. I’m a skilled rider. I’m a talented and inspired teacher.  I’m smart, fascinated, and well-informed on our subject, and I make a difference for every student I work with.  It’s not that I’m worried that I’m not good at what I do, truly. But, oh the sheer poetry of Craig Stevens at work. The never ending improvements, the mind that delights in learning, the daily joy he feels now fifty years and more into this life in the continuing work he’s privileged to do with these remarkable animals, and the stunning changes in horse after horse and rider after rider as he works with them, more and more gently, year after year. I’m good at what I do, truly, I do know this. And often people who find him intimidating, or can’t follow his metaphors, or just need a different approach find my work even more useful. But he’s a serious master, and I’m not Craig, I’m just…you know… me. And it’s hard not to feel shaky sometimes. Now, of course, he’s my husband! So I know all the down side. It may surprise you that I want him to be more diplomatic, and he COULD make an effort to dress like George Clooney and throw away “that one shirt.” He doesn’t do things around the house as I wish, and he rarely answers the phone, his jokes are appalling and he rarely does his lunch dishes, and can’t be counted on to fix the sink or take out...