Selma Blair Can’t ‘Stop Smiling’ About Being Able to Ride Horses Again: ‘I Want to Rise to the Occasion’
Selma Blair is back in the saddle again.
Over the weekend, the Anger Management actress reflected on how fortunate she feels to be able to go horseback riding again, after having to take a lengthy break due to her multiple sclerosis symptoms.
Opening up about her long-standing love of the sport, Blair wrote that she's "always wanted to be a great rider," even though it hasn't always been easy.
"Begging my mom for lessons as a kid, but I showed no promise and she was a working mom," she continued. "When I was old enough to drive myself, I did. I rode and soon enough was a grown amateur without a horse and a track record of falls and forgetting courses and developing mimicking strategies."
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Three years ago, Blair made her "biggest investment in myself," purchasing her horse, Nibbles. However, the actress was also diagnosed with MS that year, which made riding increasingly difficult.
"I couldn't feel my bum or left leg on my horse. The proprioception issues, inability to sit still, spasms, twitches. Jerks. Dystonia increased. I just laughed and thought getting older is impossible!" she wrote. "But it was ms and it got too big and I had to take a break until now."
Despite the setbacks, Blair expressed gratitude for where she is in her riding journey.
"I am at the beginning. Still. And I cannot stop smiling. I cannot," she wrote. "When I am at the barn. I finally have the white unicorn I cannot believe is in my life and I want to rise to the occasion."
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Over the summer, Blair also got a chance to go jumping with her horse.
"It is what I miss the most about my current abilities or disabilities. But today, we managed to get it together to have a few minutes," she wrote alongside a photo of herself on horseback.
Although Blair shared that it's been hard not being able to ride, especially as she "was told I would be jumping in a year when I was first diagnosed," she's resolved to "learn how to use this body, brain and emotions."
"I wish we were showing. One day. Maybe. But I am overjoyed," she added. "Back in the saddle it is. Keep finding ways to do things. I have hope."
