It was a sweaty, hot Saturday in July. The girl and her horse were galloping around the ring. They were learning to jump. The teacher was watching with razor sharp focus, ignoring the strong sun rays. The pair rushed by the trainer and bounded over the first obstacle with ease. The girl’s stomach fluttered with a million butterflies. She has wanted to jump with her horse for years, ever since she saw a jumping competition at a horse show. She was finally learning how to do her dream. On her favorite horse too! They came around the corner of the ring in a collected and calm manner. Once around the corner they approached the second and third jump. The horse pricked his ears forward. He was having just as much fun as his rider. Both stared straight ahead, not even glancing at the ground or the jump. The horse knew when to jump, the girl had to trust him with her life.  They made it over the two obstacles without even a nick on the rails. The next corner was tight and had to be done slowly. The horse was too excited and wouldn’t slow down. He wanted to get to the next jump. The girl couldn’t stop him and they whipped into the corner. The horse, going too fast, tripped and threw the girl. She was thrown into the fence and hit it with her back. The horse jumped back up and was worried about his rider. She was dazed; when she tried to stand up she became dizzy and pain shot up her back. She had a black and purple bruise going up her back from the fence wire. The horse, seeing that his rider was better than he thought, walked off. The trainer noticed he was limping. He hit his leg when he tripped over himself. The trainer decided he was only sore. The girl, wanting to get back on, stumbled to where her horse stood and climbed up slowly. She was tense and sore just like her horse. They were both worried something would happen again. For the next 30 minutes they walked around the ring, relaxing and trusting each other again. Learning to trust again is hard and takes time. Everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves. If you wait until you’re ready the damage will be done and redemption won’t happen. Force yourself to trust yourself and let yourself trust again.