Cowgirl Up!

These shots are grainy.

These shots are under exposed and blurry.

I'm too far, it's too dark, the glass is too slow - they're awful.

I love these shots.

They are raw commitment, raw determination... and just pure grit.

These shots are so sweaty and so dirty that they have somehow literally physically become exactly that what they depict... True Grit.

I feel like I should hate these shots because they're not perfect... not even close.

I love these shots.

There ain't nothin' little about this lady.

I watched some amazing men and women ride that night, but as the guy who watched this young lady make this specific run and the guy who chose these photos over all the technically great and action packed photos I grabbed that night, I have one piece of advice for everyone - myself included...

Sometimes you just gotta' cowgirl up!

Nah, that ain't right...

You gotta' live life cowgirl'd up!

But in case it is still not clicking, here's a favorite quote of mine that might explain it better. The following is a quote from Marianne Williamson's
A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”