Monika Sanders - The Space Between

MY

STORY

It is quite a journey I have to look back on.

So much has happened, I have been so many places, I have come so far and developed so much.

And yet my story is still being written, chapter by chapter, and so many exciting and wonderful things still await me.

But in the end, the story does not really matter.

What matters it what it has led to, how it has developed me, how it has helped me grow, who it has turned me into...

So I will always have a short intro here, but the rest of this page i will change around a bit in between.

Maybe i will share some thoughts, or tell you a bit about my horses or share my news with you.

Our new family member - Amanadi

2 September 2020

In January 2020 I sent out a wish into the world about a new youngster for our family.

I wrote several people I thought could maybe help me with a very detailed list of what I wished for in a new horse and that I hoped to be able to buy one for my 40th birthday in November.

In April Norwegian Helene Giske living in Portugal wrote me and said that she knew it was a bit early, but that she thought that she had found my horse...

My first response was that I sadly would not be able to buy a new horse after all because of loosing so much income due to Covid 19.

But then I just had to ask her for a picture after all...

And with that it was done...

As I was not able to travel to Portugal to meet him, Helene sent me countless video's and pictures over the next few months to find out if he was really what I was looking for. It became more and more clear to me that he indeed was, and in July I managed to make it happen with amazing help from my family.

Early in the morning of September the 2nd he finally came out of the Horse lorry after his long journey and I fell deeply in love the second i greeted him.

He is a Lusitano breed by Felix Da Costa and he is born on the 3 of January 2019. The name given to him by his breeder is Parckur, but he has been renamed Amanadi here with us.

I am very much looking forward to our lives together and can't wait to get to know him more.

I have been blessed with so many friends and teachers so far in my life.

Mulle, Caro, Morris, Flekken, Danza, Sunrise, Davizin, Filur, Massi, Milou, Wilhelm, Bailey and Amanadi, who have lived with me and been part of my family for longer or shorter periods. Some who I have had to say goodby to because they left this world in their physical form, some who only were with me for a chapter of their lives and went on to new adventures without me, and some of whom are still with me. I feel so deeply thankful to all of them. There are so much to be told about all of them, about our relationships and about what we learned together and how they developed me.

But for now I would like to tell you a little bit about the 3 horses I share my life with now.

Not so much about what they can do or what we want to achieve, but who they are and what they mean to me.

Davizin came to me the 24th March 2012. He is a blueeyed chestnut PRE born in Spain on the 10th of March 2009, approximately 153 cm tall.

He was brought to Sweden by Sara Hedberg of Pepino PRE as a one and a half year old and I had the pleasure of meeting him and falling head over heels in love with him when he was a 3 year old. We got along brilliantly from the very beginning and have done ever since the first day we met. Many of my pupils just know Davizin by his loving nickname "The Nutty Proffessor"

He is a thinker, an intellectual with a wonderful sence of humor. He enjoys the deep conversations, nerding about a small detail, investigating it curiously while all the time being quick to laughter and sillyness. He loves feeling a little badass, showing off and running the show, and I love seeing him like that. He never fails to make me laugh when ever he wants to, or to make me play or cuddle or just be.

At home I mostly just refer to him as my brother, as that is what we feel like, siblings.

I feel safe with him, familiar, natural. He will always take me as I am and I him, it does not take any effort, ever. He is dare to me.

Massimago came to me the 28th of March 2015. He is a black PRE born in Spain on the 15th of Febuary 2008, approximately 152 cm tall. He was also brought to Sweden by Sara Hedberg of Pepino PRE as a bit of a good deal "send along" horse from a horse dealer that Sara bought another horse from in 2014. He was then sold on to a young Swedish girl, but as Massi had some issues and problems that became to difficult for the young girl to deal with he came back to Sara.

In January 2015 Sara put out a picture of Massi on her FB page looking for a new owner for him.

I fell head over heals in love... But! At the time I had 6 horses despite of my strict 4 horse policy... Another horse was definitivley not the plan! Still I could not help myself and had to write Sara and at leased ask. She told me a bit about him and I got even more drawn to him, but I had to realise that I was not able to do it financially. I said to my husband Jim: " I will just have to trust that if he is ment to come and share his life with me, it will happen."

In March 2015 Sara wrote me and said; " Monika, I don't think anyone else can have this horse than you" and she offered me a reduction in price for him and we went to bring him home for a test period. ( Who was i kidding? Test period? Yeah, sure, likely story)

Massimago is very much like me in so many ways... He has had trauma in his life that has shaped part of who he is and sometimes haunts him, he feels a lot and is sensitive to others feelings. Sometimes everything simply gets too much for him and he finds things hard to cope with and it makes him tence and fearful. Sometimes he feels powerful, solid and calm in himself and able to carry the whole world on his shoulders. He loves feeling into himself, he loves finding flow together with others, he loves high energy and playfullness. He is a spirit horse. 

He needs me to find calmness within myself, he needs me to be grounded and present with him. He tells me when I am not okay and he tells me when I am. He often challenges me, but rewards me more often. He is hard to describe with words, he is a precense, full of life and energy, full of love and feeling, full of sensitivity and vulnurability, full of power and strenght.

He is dare to me.

Amanadi came to me the 2rd of September 2020. He is a chestnut Lusitano born in Portugal on the 3rd of January 2019 by breeder Felix Da Costa and found for me by Helene Giske, at the moment approximately 140 cm, but growing.

Amanadi and I have only been together for a month as I write this so we are still getting to know each other. But there are already quite many things that are clear to me about this little boy.

He is quite secure in himself, open and curious. Sensitive, but calm. Energetic, but relaxed. He is loving, welcoming and social. He likes being with others and feel close to them, but he is also fine being alone and independent. He feels wise beyond his years, while keeping his childish inocense.

I feel so much love and joy everytime I see him, and he always comes straight to me as soon as he sees me and wants to have a chat and a scratch and hang out a bit together. 

I love getting to know him, I love seing him learn, explore and develop. 

He is dare to me.

To me it will always be more important how my horses feel and how they are than what they can do. I want to give them quality of life and do my best to help them feel good about themselves and our lives together. I want them to have fun when we are together and that they feel that it enriches their lives as well. I want them to feel heard and seen and understood.

After that, what we can do or develop towards together is just a bonus and a way for us to spend time well. We never work or train together. We play, explore and communicate together.

They are dare to me.

A new Bookazine

November 2017

In November 2017 er new and exciting book/magazine series is launched.

It will come out twice a year and 18 issues are planned. It will be about the Academic Art of Riding and each issue will cover a specific subject with several different trainers, specialist etc writing about the subjecs. The first issue will be about horsemanship and I have written an article in it.

The articles are in German and English on the same page, so as long as you know any of these two languages you are sorted.

It can be ordered online several places:

Noway: www.freehorse.no

Sweden: www.kapson.se

Germany: www.barock-flair.com

CONTACT DETAILS

    Varberg, Sweden