Lauren + horse

I've worked with Lauren for many years. I've learned a lot from her, she's smart-smart-smart, she's a great friend with a huge heart and we've had some grand adventures together. But she definitely has a screw loose.

Just about every day she gets on a horse and tries to get it to jump over things. Big things. She does all that crazy stuff that puts people in the hospital. My clavicle feels like it's about to break just looking at this picture. But to Lauren, this is what she'd rather be doing, most of the time - no question.

The other thing she loves to do? Win. She's a born competitor. Believe me, when she's passionate and focused on something? Look. Out.

So that's got a lot to do with why she spent this month in South Carolina competing with her horse Spencer. And, no surprise, she placed second in her division.

Yesterday when she described the feeling she had when she made it through the course and she and her horse worked as one and did it beautifully - she was so high on life and so brimming with excitement...I think I really got it.

With most sports, you play against your own limits and you interact and compete against other humans. But with riding, it's you and your personality working together with this huge, strong animal's personality. You're taking cues from each other and reading each other's animal instincts. It's altogether different and must be exponentially more difficult than other sports - requiring a powerful combination of guts, smarts, and inner strength. Yeah, it's got Lauren written all over it.

But I get it. It must be a total rush. It must be like poetry in motion. It must be so incredible, that you're willing to buy horse shoes once a month that cost more than your entire annual wardrobe. So thrilling, in fact, that you're willing to put aside thoughts of Christopher Reeve, throw caution to the wind, be in the moment, breathe deep the fresh air, pat your horse, whisper to him and...FLY.