It’s Getting Serious
I’m realizing I haven’t done an update in a while, and since it’s springtime, stuff is “getting serious”. Meaning, of course, we are deep in preparation for this summer’s show season!
As per usual with horses, there are constant “things” cropping up. Things don’t align with the perfect plan we had in our head, and thats okay. I have a wonderful client that pointed out the other day the rule of thirds. There is a video out there floating around the social media world of an Olympic lifter explaining this rule—as her coach so aptly explained to her, you are not meant to feel good about what you are doing (good meaning successful) 100% of the time. If you feel like you are doing well 1/3 of the time, okay 1/3 of the time, and bad 1/3 of the time, you are likely on the right track. Oh, how we feel this with horses—the temps are changing, hair is flying, and they feel different, too. I know when the sun comes out after a long few weeks of cold and dreary weather, I feel good. So do they. And, in return, that can lead to some bug moments.
What is a bug moment, you ask? Ah, this is truly one of my favorite sayings to apply to the horse-world. “Sometimes you are the bug, and sometimes you are the windshield”. A little less apropos than the rule of thirds, but equally as true. Whenever with horses I find myself stuck, or having a bad ride, or things maybe just aren’t going as I planned, I always remind myself that not everyday can I be the windshield. Somedays, truly, you are just the bug. It happens. And within the perfect world of social media, it can be hard to see that we all have days where we are the bug.
At a clinic I was coaching recently in Minnesota, I had a student come in for a lesson. She looked polished, astute, and ready to learn. She clearly had good foundational knowledge and wanted it. I was so impressed! Later on, she divulged to her normal instructor that she was nervous. She thought she had a bad ride. She was thinking to herself, “I don’t deserve to be here", and was thinking she was much below learning from me and wasn’t close to the standard of who should be taking lessons from me. Whoa, I thought. I had no idea this person was beating themselves down for the first half of their ride—they looked great. Then, the rider explained to her normal instructor, she thought to herself, “you know what, I can do this (meaning dressage) too”. She put her game face on and made the conscious decision to turn the mental idea of her ride around. I think we all can look back and see rides we’ve had, or lessons we’ve had, that have felt like that. You don’t feel ready, or good enough to be there.
The craziest part is the normal instructor (who taught me how to ride about 15 years ago—blast from the past) had remembered something from years ago. At our old barn, whenever we had a profound “lightbulb” moment, we wrote it on boards surrounding the viewing area with a sharpie. Across these beautiful pine 2x8’s was a smattering of sharpie’d thoughts, all profound to the writer themselves, and inspiration to all of us riding around. Before our instructor left that barn, she took photos of all of the thoughts and ideas we had and kept them in an album on her computer. That day, 13 years later, when this student was explaining this profound realization to her—she remembered something I had written when I was around 15 years old. I wrote, “whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right”. Wow. Such a full circle moment to have—as I now near 30 and look back on all of the trials and tribulations over the years. Lots of bug moments, some great windshield experiences, but lots and lots of blood, sweat, and tears in between.
As I near on a season with two FEI horses in my possession, a boatload of super young horses, and wonderful, kind clients, I’ve personally realized that while this is indeed “getting serious”— I am here due to my belief that I can do it. It doesn’t mean that I haven’t had days where I’ve almost given up (bad days), or days where it’s just been hard work with little-to-no “obvious” victories (okay days)—but It does mean that I’ve chosen to not listen to the negative voices (in myself or around me). I’ve surrounded myself with a team of people that also believe in me, and the work I do, as much as I believe in them.
So, this spring—as some of us get ready to “get serious” about going to a show or even just riding in general, remember the rule of thirds. And remember when it comes to mentality, whether you think you can or think you can’t—you’re right.
2022, with Trakehner gelding Atikokan at one of his first shows.