Uma and Jetson...

Horses and children, I often think, have a lot of the good sense there is in the world.

~ Josephine Demott Robinson

You know what they say, how 'time flies', how one day you'll be kicking back drinking up life as it is, you'll blink, and on opening your eyes everything has zoomed 10 years or so into the future? Yeah, you know how they say that? Well, it's true. Between the past and the present things kind of just speed past, it all becomes a bit blurry, the timeline melds into itself and we ask ourselves "where did it go?" "What happened? It can't be so!" Such is life. 

And so it is when I look at these images of Uma. Uma is my niece and just turned 13. 13!! Thirteen!!! I can scarcely believe it! Still caught in that strange dreamland called childhood but on the precipice of entering that even stranger transition period into adulthood called the teenage years, she embodies growth, change, and time passing into something else. I look at her and I see a curious girl growing into a vivacious, sensitive and thoughtful young woman who is fearless in her approach to life. 

Uma loves horses, and she loves one horse in particular - Jetson. I'd heard a lot about Jetson before taking these photos, but seeing Uma and Jetson together made me realise what a special connection they have. I've always been uncomfortable around horses but I was quickly put at ease by their quiet understanding of each other. There is something very beautiful about witnessing the bonds between humans and animals and watching Uma upon Jetson's back, galloping up grassy hillsides, brought me closer to understanding her love of horse riding. It engages all of the senses. It requires trust, cooperation and a pureness of heart. There is freedom there, abandon, wildness and love. 

xx

Horses lend us the wings we lack.

~ Author Unknown