Resistance
a rider's hands against the mouth of a horse. While yielding has a better
connotation, there can be no mutual concessions without first meeting
resistance. It is a matter of how the rider, the leader or the president of
an organization handles the resistance that will determine the potential
benefit or harm that result from the encounter.
For a rider, the best results often follow a leap of faith by giving into
the horse's resistance and allowing the horse to find freedom within the
confines of the rider's hands. Exceptional riders, like exceptional leaders,
learn to manipulate the resistance to their advantage by exchanging
authority - for it is the exchange that builds the trust necessary to become
successful at any endeavor.
Fresh Starts
drug her kids to horse show after horse show, served on committees while her
children competed and never considered that she was forsaking her own
ambitions to pursue those of her children.
Now that her children are grown up, it is finally Carol's turn to learn,
ride and go horse show. After all her time in the saddle, time in the barn
and time practicing, her favorite thing to do is still to go to a horse show
with her daughter and be a horse show mom.
Retiring and planning to winter in Florida, my husband Don and I were
expecting a lot of positive changes in our lives. We knew we would have more
free time, more time for him to golf, me to ride, and good weather. What I
value most though are the changes I had not even anticipated. One such
change is what I call "porch talk", we can sit in the back yard, and talk
about things. And another such change is what I call "fresh start". Leaving
behind his old golf partners and my old barn buddies, as well as other
friends, we are having a chance to start over in a variety of ways. He
changed his swing, I am trying to be a better partner to my horse. No one
here has a pre conceived notion of who we are, how we perform, how we
interact. we can be whoever we want to be.
During porch talk, we often chat about our hobbies. He comments on golf, "it
is such a mind game", "I need to stay relaxed yet focused".
He often makes comments about golf that I could just as easily make about
riding. A few days ago, he had an awesome round, several pars, and ended
with a great score. Yesterday he had a bad round, not such a good score. I
asked him about it, and in answer he told me about his new golf partners. On
the good day, he shared a cart with Rich. Rich is a few years older, has
played a lot of golf, and is soft spoken and polite. Don said that their
conversation in the cart was light, not always about golf. Every time Don
teed off, Rich would say something positive, occasionally Rich would say,
"you know you could improve that if you try this", never critical, just sort
of providing options.
On the bad day, Don shared a cart with Tom. Tom is very strong and very
determined. The talk centered around Tom's lack of success golfing. He swung
hard, but was not accurate. Don tried to relate to Tom, and help him but
his own game got worse.
Again, I was struck by how similar golf is to riding. If we focus on the
problems, our own or someone else's , The problem gets worse. We get more
determined, and still the problem gets worse. I thought of a time last fall
when I was riding with another select lady, another former horse show mom.
Our trainer was out of town, so we were just going to get together and ride.
Her horse just would not jog nicely, she was erratic, head up. I sympathized
with her, and we talked about how easy it looks when our daughters or our
trainer rides our horses. We both became overly focused on the jog, trying
different solutions, and pretty soon my horse was becoming erratic in his
jog too. We ended our ride that day a little frustrated.
Had I thought about it then, that would have been a perfect opportunity for
a fresh start. Instead of talking about how "we just can't do it like the
young girls do", we should have just been happy to be riding, and it might
have gotten better on its own. We needed someone like Rich that day, to
tell us we were okay, and to take what was okay, and made it better.
This winter, I have had a fresh start. I realize the joy is in the trying
and the learning. It can't be forced.
28 Ocale Way S
Summerfield FL 34491
Show Preparation
With the Holidays well past, New Year’s resolutions established, accomplished or broken, Valentine’s kissed and President’s Day celebrated, it is time to start thinking about the first show of the season. For many riders, the break from the last show to the first show is longer than their actual show season. While this break is well deserved and much needed, it brings about its own set of challenges for both the horse and his master.
Although riders get a change of scenery every day on their way to work, play or school, the horse has undoubtedly not left the farm for a very long time. Preparing for the first show of the season can be tricky for those whose horses have seen nothing but the four walls of their indoor arena for the past four or five months. The same problem exists for the horse that has never left the farm.
There are many things a rider can do to help the outcome be successful for both the horse and the rider. First, make sure you are organized well in advance of your trip. While some things on your to-do list must be left for the day before you leave (clipping, loading your work tack, packing feed), many things can be done well in advance of the day of departure.
- Read the new rule book for your club or organization and make sure you are aware of any rule changes that will affect you, your horse and competition.
- Try your show clothes on to make sure they not only fit, but are clean, free from flaws and something you still want to wear! There is nothing worse than going to put on your show clothes and realizing they won’t work for whatever reason. Being self-conscious about your show clothes adds pressure you don’t need as you ready for entry into the show pen.
- Check the tire pressure in your truck and trailer and if at all possible, hook up and drive the trailer to make sure that everything is in working order before you load your horse. Sitting for a long time is hard on trailer tires and flat spots can result. You also want to make sure that all of the trailer lights and brakes work before you put a horse on the trailer.
- Clean your show tack packing it in the trailer only after you have checked it for workability and cleanliness. Same with your show boots: take them out of their boot bags, clean and polish them before putting them into the horse trailer.
- Order, organize and pack all necessary show supplies. Make a list of any supplies you need to buy at the show and make time as soon as necessary to purchase them.
- Make stall reservations as early soon as you are sure you are going to the horse show. This will help the show secretary and allows you a better chance of stall preference. Read all the literature that comes with the show bill to make sure you are aware of all the rules for competition and find out what the practice riding times and arenas are.
- Get a Coggins test done at the first of the year as well as any other vaccinations that must be done in order to travel.
- Check to make sure you have all the paper work you need to enter, cross state lines and identify yourself as the owner, member and insured.
Now that all the easy stuff is done, what do you do to ensure a fun successful show? Well, first off, try to go with some sort of plan for your arrival. If you are arriving at night, are you going to have time to longe or exercise your horse after you get there? Establish a plan for how you will familiarize your horse with his surroundings after you get him settled into his stall.
It helps a horse to settle in if you can at least take them for a walk to see their new accommodations for the weekend. Try to take your horse out somewhere with relative quiet. Immediately being bombarded with an arena full of horses can result in making your horse fired up making settling in difficult. If there is nowhere quiet to go with your horse, try taking him out with just a halter and lead or longe line first and walk him around the arena.
If your horse gets frazzled by crowds of horses or becomes too fresh or high, take him to the center of the arena where he can have some space and allow the horses to be only on his outside. Use this same philosophy when you ride your horse too; first ride where it is quiet – if at all possible – then start in the middle of the arena and let him get comfortable before you take him to the rail. Keeping the horse near the center also protects him from getting bumped into by rude riders or unruly horses. Remember, it is your job to protect your horse – you are his master!
Although some show facilities only have one arena, most have at least a small practice area. Try starting out there and make sure you have the horse you recognize before introducing him to the masses of the warm up arena. Only after you have your horse behaving in a manner you recognize and are comfortable with should you go into the show arena for practice.
Get up early or stay up late - introduce your horse at a level of noise and commotion he is comfortable with. Even with the most broke of horses, it is difficult to prepare for most classes amongst a herd of horses riding haphazardly every which way. Take your horse out several different times rather than keeping him out for one long single work. Each time your horse goes back to the stall, he relaxes a bit more becoming increasingly settled with his new digs.
Once again, be organized. Go to the practice pen with the equipment you need. When show days dawns, get to the barn 30 minutes before you think you should giving yourself time for small disasters. Pay attention to what is happening in the show arena AT ALL TIMES. It is 100% your responsibility to know what is going on – whether or not the sound system is working to inform you. Use your two feet and find out what is happening so you are not surprised with your class coming up faster than you anticipated.
If you get to the arena too early, give your horse a break. Get off and stand with him, let him stand at the end of your lead shank in halter or walk him around. Don’t expect him to give 150% for too long or you will have no horse when you go into the show arena. Getting the best ride from your horse is all about timing and only you know your horse well enough to know how much time you need.
At your first show, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Pack early, get everything you are going to need or use at the show out and ready before you leave home, give your horse plenty of opportunity to settle in, get to the show early the first morning you show and give your horse the benefit of your best preparation.
Good luck for a fabulous and fun 2012 show season!
Serving
Serving
Serving on a committee, any committee is just what the name implies; service
- work done for others. There is nothing about the work that guarantees
appreciation, gratitude and certainly there is no satisfaction for the work
done from those who do not serve. It would do us all well to remember that
the people who serve on committees do so because they care about the cause.
For those who care less, they take the service of others, condemn those who
serve, donate time, effort and ideas, and yet still do not care enough to
offer their hand, head or heart in the service of a cause they supposedly
care about. Their concern stops at the viscous words they expel.
Service on committees often comes with more personal frustration on behalf
of the committeemen than the critics have for those who serve. Fighting for
a cause can be painful, disheartening and discouraging. However, most often,
it is extremely rewarding.
The frustration comes from losing a long agonizing battle fought to win an
argument for your cause. Often in the heat of the battle, you think things
are going to go your way only to be told later, by someone other than your
superior, that you lost the battle. Most frustrating on the server's part is
the outcome of the backroom meetings where the powers that be make decisions
with complete disregard for the consensus of the hard working committee -
almost always, without the knowledge and certainly without the approval of
the very committee that was asked to come up with a plan.
In the end, for those who care more, those who continue to serve their
critics, there is the knowledge that they cared enough to risk trying.
Trying and failing is a part of succeeding. Eventually those who serve long
enough will suffer condemnation, will take failures as a lesson to gain
knowledge from and will become the winners.
Leaders will continue to override the decisions committee members make
regardless of how hard committeemen try to make it otherwise - however, it
is imperative that we all keep serving to educate and shift progress in the
direction we want to see things go. For those who have given their time in
the service of an organization they care about, they understand the dual
sided nature of all issues and the repercussions arising from any decision.
Often, the general population is unaware of the affect decisions of the
organization have in other areas.
Thank you to all those who care enough to serve on a committee. Your
service, understandably, comes at a cost. As for the toll it takes - only
you can determine that. Your efforts, concern and determination are greatly
appreciated.
If you care enough to complain, care enough to serve.
On Being A Passenger
A friend of mine came to the barn the other day and related a story about
driving with her husband. She said she decided she was a good passenger and
wondered how this related to her riding worrying that it might be causing
problems.
Becky and her husband, Jason, had recently moved into a new area and were
driving to meet friends for dinner. On their way, Jason pulled into a turn
lane that Becky knew was not correct. Becky questioned Jason about the
direction of his turn, but decided to let him discover the error for himself
after he assured her he knew where he was going.
As it turned out, Becky was correct and Jason had to turn around to go the
other direction. This brought no real satisfaction to Becky, nor did it make
her angry. She enjoyed riding in the car with her husband and seeing a
different part of their new neighborhood while chatting about the day's
events.
However, the incident made her question how this related to her riding. A
passenger, by definition, participates only passively in an activity. But
Becky did not let Jason make an error without first attempting to let him
make the correct decision. Only after Jason responded defensively did she
decide to let him discover the mistake for himself.
So too, does a good rider give their horse an opportunity to make the
correct decision. After which, a good horseman allows the horse to discover
their error by making the bad decision uncomfortable. Lessons are always
learned more thoroughly when they are discovered by the student rather than
being humiliated into surrendering.
While Becky may enjoy a breezy ride through the lush country, feeling the
wind on her face and the sun on her back, she is a better teacher than
passenger, a better horseman than just a rider. A horseman allows the horse
to learn by guiding him. Allowing mistakes to be made in self-discovery on a
path to follow the rider's guidelines, the two become a team.
Saddle Up
bite of a brownie Sunday, many riders look at winning teams with envy
thinking that they, too, could win everything if they had an unlimited
budget to buy a horse.
The reality is the skinny one routinely skips the super sweets just like the
big winner at the horse show will most often be found at the barn,
practicing! The successful showman has invested ten thousand hours of
riding, training, making mistakes only to pick themselves up and try it
again.
AS a winning team, it is the winner's job to make it look easy - as if
anyone could do what they are doing. Winners accomplish this only with much
practice. Even great riders need some time to become accustom to a new
horse. Nothing beats sweaty saddle pads and time in the saddle for an
ambitious rider.
Whether you want to win in the show ring or avoid problems on the trail or
just become a better partner for your horse, nothing replaces time. The only
way to become a better rider is to ride - so saddle up!
Your saddle may be a racket, a club, a paint brush or a key stroke, but you
will become more successful with good practice. Making something look easy
only comes after much time in the saddle.
Acceptance
How does one learn to accept the circumstances that they find themselves in? It seems with life traveling at the speed of sound, excuses abound. The media gives people plenty of reasons why they cannot succeed: programs intended to put people to work instead make them dependent on subsidies, children play games with no winner declared, students with brilliant minds are made to hold back their answers in order not to make others feel bad.
Ashley, a student in the game of life, competes for a prize in the glamorous show arena. While she does not have a groom to hand her horse off to, she instead tacks and untacks her own horse, cleans his stall and wraps his legs at night. Although she is exhausted at night from the pre-dawn chores that only end with a late night barn check, she has taken the responsibility for her destiny.
Her failures are her own, she has no trainer to blame, no groom to fire, no help to yell at. Instead, as she walks her horse back to the stall where she quietly rubs him down after a hard days work, she contemplates the decisions she made throughout the day that led to the results she earned.
While rubbing his back with alcohol gel, Ashley appreciates his happy eye, content with the sounds of her horse munching on hay. She understands the part her partner played and grants him the accolades he deserves. As she puts her horse's needs in front of her own, she does not quit until she is satisfied with the work she has done, taking care to make sure every speck of sweat is wiped dry and the stall is properly fluffed for a good night's sleep.
Walking back to her trailer where she finally can take care of herself, she feels an enormous sense of pride for the days work. For the results are hers to take credit for. She blames no one for the late lead change that cost her the win but accepts with gratitude the placings she earned.
Only after you accept responsibility for your actions can you find acceptance for yourself.
Thoughts for the day
animal they sit on? Have you ever lost your distance to a log or jump and
your horse made the necessary adjustment to correctly traverse the log? Or
perhaps you have looked off the desired path while your horse paid attention
and veered out of the way of oncoming traffic as if on autopilot. Maybe you
forgot your leg, got lazy or just had a lapse. The horse never sets us down
hard, jerks on our mouth or kicks us when we make a mistake. Instead, the
horse tries again to satisfy his master.
As a rider, your job is multi-functional. If you are to be a true partner
with your horse, you are an administrator, not a dictator. As if teaching a
child how to cross the street, at first you must hold their hand while in
the end, you set them free to take a stab at it on their own.
If a team is ever to flourish, the rider must learn to get out of the
horse's way allowing the horse to do the job he was taught. Trusting the
horse to do what he has learned is like trusting your child to look both
ways before crossing the street. Sometimes the child will be distracted but
in the end, if taught properly, the child will look both ways automatically.
Tough Preparations
Conditions are often not conducive to easy preparation. But don't let that prevent you from preparing for your event to the best of your ability. Remember these last words, to the best of your ability. You cannot help that it rains, that the arena is filled with too many horses to school your own or that someone stops directly in front of you.
However, you can pack a rain coat, school your horse when others are not and keep your eyes alert to danger around you. You can remain two horse lengths away from all others, get up earlier than the masses and look ahead.
For it is that which lay ahead that we toil over, anticipate and eventually look forward to. So appreciate the time you have to prepare for the future. Give it your all and behold, so that you may receive the same in return.
Rainy day observations
It seems that bad weather often brings out the 'bad' in many of us. And here in Ohio, at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress, it is no different. The event, the largest single breed equine event in the world, brings in over 5000 horses and 100,000 people. It is an event that supposedly revolves around the horse.
Yet it is the horse who suffers the most during the 23 day event. While today it is pouring down rain, people run from place to place under the shelter of a covered golf cart, car, truck or hooded rain coat. Running between puddles we deem too deep to traverse, the horse reluctantly follows behind, unsure why he or she should have to leave a dry stall to go into the rain.
Under the security of our warm vehicle with windshield wipers to clear our otherwise blinded vision, we dash from one barn to another, the practice arena to the show arena, McDonald's for an Egg McMuffin or Walmart to pick up another bag of candy or decorations to impress passer's by.
The horse, however, has no choice whether to get out of the rain or not as they are drug behind a handler pulling them from the back of a smokey golf cart as it backfires, speeds through puddles and splashes cold water in the horses face and eyes. The horse can't help but panic when he or she hears the noise of a racing vehicle, the vehicle unaware of how dangerously close they pass the horse.
Vehicles scream by a child holding their quiet friend at the end of the reins. The friend, a horse, babysits, patiently waiting with the young rider as they wait together, getting drenched, for vehicle after speeding vehicle to pass through the parking lot on their way to someplace important. Oblivious to the waiting team, the drivers, sitting high and dry in their vehicles, deem their own passage more important than that of the young child and her trusty steed who continue to absorb the falling rain while they wait for a break in the passing vehicles.
With metal shoes hitting the slick pavement, the horse dodges the puddle, the golf cart and by the Grace of God, our toes, as he is always protective of his master, his handler who is supposed to protect him, while he tags along for another trip to another pen.
So as you hurry off to one place or another, jump in front of someone to get there first, fly by a horse being led on the puddle strewn street, drive through a cross-walk with a horse and handler in wait, consider for a moment why we are here...
Putting the needs of someone else in front of your own will bring about a change in your forecast. Being aware of the presence of someone larger than you, helping someone needier than you, giving a second of your time so someone else can benefit, will change your life - slowly and dramatically - we can make a difference.
