As the work day wraps up and I seem to STARE at the clock on my computer, I found myself thinking about why I am even bothering with taking a lesson tonight. Shows have been basically wiped off the table for the foreseeable future. May is fully back under the category of “for my enjoyment only” and the general stress and exhaustion from my job are not leaving me with many cares left to give.
Well… if you know me… you know that NOT CARING is not a strength of mine. I care about EVERYTHING. (except the state of the inside of my car, sorry honey.) I will turn myself inside out with worry, stress, fretting care. So, not caring about my riding just isn’t in the cards.
I am showing up tonight because I care.
I care that I ride my horse well. I care that I succeed in this thing. So… what would success look like right now?
It’s clearly not winning all the events. So if our goals are competition goals… what are they?
I think I am going to go back to an oldie but a goodie. I want to be comfortable cruising around a 3′ course with May and schooling 2nd level Dressage movements. The 1st level stuff is pretty well established. Although, I would love to throw it in a Dressage court under a judge. Karen – you want to give me a mini-clinic one day? 😉
I think that if I got even one of those things accomplished. I would feel pretty good about this summer.
What about you? Any non-competitions goals keeping you going?
I feel ya on this one. It’s tough for me to continue to stay motivated without goals. But, like you, I care that my horse gets exercise and consistency and all the things.
I’m thinking lots of schooling outings are in our future
Yeah. Like I am definitely not turning down any XC schooling or off property trail ride opportunities in the near future! I think it helps both May and me enjoy the job.
Getting comfortable and steady at the very basics w/t/c is my main goal. I’d love to be able to jump a full course even if it is baby height as well. I’d like to head into winter feeling fully capable of making spring 2020 our debut season of showing.
Now that you found the right trainer, I bet you get there a lot sooner than you think. 😉
I’m having a hard time with this right now. I’m not competing. I’m not leasing. I’m barely riding outside a once-a-week lesson. I wrestle with whether it’s even worth it. (It is, I’d be very sad without ANY riding at all.) But it’s hard because I’m a very goal-oriented person, and it’s hard not to have any right now.
Oh girl. I really do feel you. I know a part of me definitely needs to ride (I get kind of insane when I don’t), but part of me is like… maybe I should spend time and money on other things instead.
Trust me, spending the time and money elsewhere is, though necessary for me at this point, not as awesome as spending time and money on horses.
I guess we are still those horse-crazy 12 yr olds at heart 😉
Super relatable right now! We’ve taken a major step back since school is taking up a lot of my time, and it’s definitely an adjustment to not be constantly aiming for the next biggest fence. Right now I’m enjoying the process of “hunter-izing” Frankie and acclimating him to some new rings, and just leaning on him to take care of me for a bit while my brain is otherwise occupied.
Girl you know I would help you with dressage if you help me with jumping!!
Done! Haha
Whenever I want a broader look at my riding goals I just remind myself that life is short so I should do my best to enjoy being outside, with horses, and every moment I get in the saddle since young me never dreamed of what older me would have or be at now.
This is such a good point. 12 yr old me would be insanely happy just to own a short yellow mare that lets me do all this super cool stuff with her. At the end of the day, that’s really what it’s all about.