Training Matters - Rule #4: KEEP GOING

Retirement Day #2475

April 10, 2026

Every day, the arena- that “horse dance studio” of life – offers a new-not-new lesson du jour.

Today, as I lunged* my horse, StarBucks, in preparation for our lesson, a ground pole ambushed me, causing me to unexpectedly lose my balance and tumble; I tasted dirt in the midst of a tidy roll. My trainer flashed “keep going! get up!” StarBucks, dutifully trotting about 30ft. out on the end of the lunge line, suddenly realized her human was doing something really odd. With the startled mare version of “WTF!” she flinched, flounced and flew into a canter. This scenario could have quickly gone one of two ways: #1: human freaks out, stalls and wallows in the dirt, while cantering horse drags human around arena attached to lunge line until dirty bruised human has the good sense to let go, or #2: human keeps frontal lobe operational, lunging horse from the ground while using the momentum of the roll to get human feet underneath and KEEP GOING. #1 could end poorly. #2 [as firmly recommended by Jenn, my trainer] was the chosen option, ending with a flutter and a lot of laughing. Sing it out loud: if you fall, get up and KEEP GOING. 

But there’s a key element here that must not be ignored: one must have the training to a) keep your cool b) assess the situation c) act effectively to solve it fluidly– which is USUALLY not “instinctual.” Effective dynamic problem solving requires time spent under the tutelage of a good trainer. And improvisational practice.

This was not an entirely new lesson for me – just a new context. As a performer, in addition to the usual embarrassing costume/make-up malfunctions, inevitable injuries and illnesses, and technical whoopsies [including stage fires], I’ve also experienced dancing through substances on the stage floor like grease or dog pee or creatures of the air like bats, birds, ticks, fart clouds, and other theatrical spirits. Through it all: as a fellow performer recently reminded me when I expressed nervousness about an upcoming performance: “you’ve trained your whole life for this – you can handle anything out there” - translation: when the going gets weird- kick, turn and KEEP DANCING.

One day, years ago, when I was working towards my pilot’s license, my flight instructor randomly reached over and pulled the throttle back – essentially ending the single prop rotation. My brain froze for a moment as he said “now what do you do?” – then I reached down and swiftly, smoothly pushed the throttle forward – the prop picked up rotation with a gratifying “thwop thwop thwop.” My instructor sighed. “Ok- yes, good response; but we need to go over what happens if you actually lose your engine.” Me: “Crash.” Him: “Um – wrong terminology” “Emergency landing?” “Maybe – but the first thing we do is fly the plane –KEEP FLYING.” And we proceeded to practice emergency landing protocols. And practice. And practice. Until the brain freeze began to thaw.

Why does the Coat of Arms of Australia feature a kangaroo and an emu? Because Aussies know that the Kangaroo and Emu are creatures who cannot back up, and sometimes, neither can we. “If you're going through hell, keep going.” - Winston Churchill; and if you are afraid?, do it afraid, because the only way out is forward. Remember your training. Use your technique. You got this - Keep Going.

*Lunging: training method where a horse moves in a circle around a handler standing in the center, controlled by a long line (lunge line) and body/voice commands.

An unfortunate moment on stage in 1987