Getting Back On
I suspect you grew up hearing what my Daddy used to tell me: "Son, when a
horse throws you, I want to see you get right back on him. Do you hear me?"
Well, yes, I heard him. It's just that we didn't own a horse. But the point of
it all wasn't really about horses, falling off, and getting back on them. It was
about tenacity and persistence in life. It was about believing in something and
not giving up. Here's a story that reminded me of his advice.
Seven horses were entered in the Feast of St. Raymond Novices' Chase at
Southwell, England, last month. I don't know anything about "St. Raymond," but
what happened that day may just qualify him as the Patron of Unlikely Victories.
The favorite in the race was a horse named Family Business. Jockey Tony McCoy
was in the saddle and set to ride him over the course to victory.
Things went reasonably well until a mistake on the tenth of seventeen fences
sent McCoy flying. He landed on the muddy ground, threw off his helmet in
disgust, and started walking his horse off the course. Glancing up occasionally
at the other horses and riders, he saw first one and then another slip on the
wet turf. To make a long story short, not a single one of the original seven
covered the course without tumbling. It looked more like bowling than
steeplechase!
"I started walking back toward the weighing room," said McCoy, "and there was
one less standing every time I looked. I thought maybe I should get back up and
see what happens." So, four minutes after being thrown, he got back on Family
Business, re-jumped Fence 10, and completed the 3 1/16-mile course.
Tony McCoy wound up the winning rider -- although with an incredibly slow time.
He was more than four minutes slower than the average time for races run on the
same track. Resolve proved to be more important than speed that day.
Discouraged over the economy? Frustrated with a job search? Having problems in
your family? Has a relationship broken down? Suffering from a major spiritual
setback? Has an old addiction resurfaced to throw you?
Being thrown doesn't mean the race is over or that you're through. You have the
thrilling option of getting up again and finishing your course.
Here is what the Bible says: "Though a righteous person falls seven times, he
rises again, but the wicked are brought low by calamity" (Proverbs 24:16).
Rubel Shelly whcoc@edge.net
(c) 2002 Rubel Shelly. Used by permission.
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