As we all start coming out of this bitter cold winter, starting to put shows on our calendar and planning our year it can make us feel like we aren't quite where we wanted to be. Some of us start looking at clinics, some head south, and some are just itching to get out of the walls of the indoor, but no matter what a lot of us are feeling a little pressed for time to "get ready". But if we take a second to look back at where we came from we can usually find that we are actually ahead of where we wanted to be.
A big part of this "where we wanted to be" tends to need to be taken down a few notches. Sort of like the saying, "before you head out the door, take off one piece of jewelry" (which, let's be honest is more like "take some more hay out of your hair"... but your get the picture) We have our big stary eyed dreams, then our more realistic and attainable goals. It's important to make your goals realistic or you truly will be bummed each and every time that you didn't progress enough. If your horse is still working on trotting a circle, don't have high hopes of going 1* mid summer. But, do set goals that make you slightly uncomfortable and then break those goals into bite sized, attainable pieces and get to work.
A big part of this "where we wanted to be" tends to need to be taken down a few notches. Sort of like the saying, "before you head out the door, take off one piece of jewelry" (which, let's be honest is more like "take some more hay out of your hair"... but your get the picture) We have our big stary eyed dreams, then our more realistic and attainable goals. It's important to make your goals realistic or you truly will be bummed each and every time that you didn't progress enough. If your horse is still working on trotting a circle, don't have high hopes of going 1* mid summer. But, do set goals that make you slightly uncomfortable and then break those goals into bite sized, attainable pieces and get to work.
Since most of us are somewhere on the Type A spectrum, it's important to remember to celebrate the success of those bite sized pieces. All too often we forget what the little goal inside the big goal was and just use it as a measure of how far we still have to go, not how far we have come. As I tell my riders to help keep things in perspective- it takes 8-10 weeks to build a muscle (your brain is a muscle too). So what is your goal for the next 8 weeks? Is it to get a better canter transition to the left? Make your horse more equally supple in both directions? Be able to hold the canter over all of the poles? When you make small attainable goals like that and give yourself a realistic timeline you are far more likely to achieve them... and sometimes it only takes 2 weeks WOO HOO!!! When you're starting to approach the success of one goal, start to create another BUT take a second (or a few rides) to enjoy what used to be hard.
When you focus on the good,
the good gets better
the good gets better
Sometimes your ambition to get to your goal or the pressure of your big dream can be too much for your partnership to bear. If you let that pressure get between you and your horse or even let your horse feel that pressure, you're setting yourself up for a break down. Horses don't have the ability to have ambitions. They don't stay up at nights looking at their dream boards eagerly anticipating the next time you throw a saddle over their backs. So when they feel an energy, a pressure, that isn't usually there they go into survival mode, not git 'er done mode. So, when you feel the urge to push extra hard for that clinic with so-and-so or to move up to Training from Novice, STOP. Take a second to look back and make a list of what used to be hard.
Knowing your diagonal
Sitting trot
Shoulder In
Walk-Canter
Not rearing every ride
Having your horse stand still on the cross ties
Loading on the trailer
Not thinking the ditch in the trakehner would swallow you whole
All are VERY valid things to put on the list. You may laugh hysterically at some.... ISN"T THAT GREAT?!? Take the pressure off and appreciate the fact that your horse doesn't blow off the ground like a leaf when the wind blows. So, you need to nail your Canter-Walk to get your Bronze? So, you need to be able to get out of the triple without looking like you went bowling? You'll get there! And your horse will thank you when you stop acting weird and just keep plugging away. Make them feel like they've won the Olympics each and every ride and they will come out ready to work hard for you. Don't grind the gears to get there... go for a hack, the pirouette can wait for another day.
Knowing your diagonal
Sitting trot
Shoulder In
Walk-Canter
Not rearing every ride
Having your horse stand still on the cross ties
Loading on the trailer
Not thinking the ditch in the trakehner would swallow you whole
All are VERY valid things to put on the list. You may laugh hysterically at some.... ISN"T THAT GREAT?!? Take the pressure off and appreciate the fact that your horse doesn't blow off the ground like a leaf when the wind blows. So, you need to nail your Canter-Walk to get your Bronze? So, you need to be able to get out of the triple without looking like you went bowling? You'll get there! And your horse will thank you when you stop acting weird and just keep plugging away. Make them feel like they've won the Olympics each and every ride and they will come out ready to work hard for you. Don't grind the gears to get there... go for a hack, the pirouette can wait for another day.
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We have had the new barn up for 9 months, so I'm starting to have "on this day" memories come up with pictures from Bryan and I building it on Facebook. It is amazing how far we have come in such a short amount of time! I'm stressing about not having the fancy finishing touches on things and a year ago we just started building our first wall! That is an incredibly humbling feeling. Only a little over a year ago there was no barn. I'm allowing myself to feel small in front of such a huge accomplishment. That is amazing. I am so proud of us. I am so proud of me. If I had only looked forward to what HASN'T been done yet, I would never feel so proud.
I was going through my pictures on my phone tonight and came across a video of a dressage test of Belle this summer. Now, that day was an emotional roller coaster for her but it was still a respectable score. I can't even believe it was the same horse I have the privilege of sitting on these days. Although I know I wasn't putting any pressure on her to be at a certain point then, our partnership and her confidence have dramatically changed in 8 months. Her posture and expression have transformed her into a ballerina. That video helped me appreciate where we are now so much more than I could have ever expected.
Do yourself a favor before the hustle and bustle of show season comes... take a minute and remember where you came from. Your red mare will get you where you want to go, if you enjoy the ride.
I was going through my pictures on my phone tonight and came across a video of a dressage test of Belle this summer. Now, that day was an emotional roller coaster for her but it was still a respectable score. I can't even believe it was the same horse I have the privilege of sitting on these days. Although I know I wasn't putting any pressure on her to be at a certain point then, our partnership and her confidence have dramatically changed in 8 months. Her posture and expression have transformed her into a ballerina. That video helped me appreciate where we are now so much more than I could have ever expected.
Do yourself a favor before the hustle and bustle of show season comes... take a minute and remember where you came from. Your red mare will get you where you want to go, if you enjoy the ride.
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