Showing Horses. Not Just Tight Pants and Lots of Money.

by Tiffany Wednesday, August 19, 2015 1 comments

I wasn't just handed lessons. I had to work for them. At the tender age of 12, I begged my mother to take me to a local Arabian barn and ask the trainer if I could work in trade for lessons. Luckily, the trainer took a chance and gained some free labor, although the jury is out on how helpful I really was at that point.

Working in trade for lessons and then eventually showing has taught me more life lessons than you would think.

We worked really hard. Proof is in the sweaty nose. 

Hard work pays off. Slacking off just makes you look like an idiot.
Your horse isn't going to lie for you like one of your friends. Even worse, that horse your trainer asked you to lunge down isn't going to lie about how you strolled out to the arena, made him work for 5 whole minutes and then took him back to previously mentioned trainer who  climbs aboard a still energetic and maybe even bucking machine. You can't come back from that. Just hang your head in shame and don't be such a slacker!

Translation to the real world (TTTRW): People notice how you put your whole effort into every task you're handed. This may not sound like a rarity, but in our world it really is. The assignment your boss gave you, which he thought would take you all week? Yeah, it's done in two days and is picture perfect. No bucking from that memo!


Teamwork. It's harder than it looks.
You are riding an animal ten times your size and guess what? He doesn't speak English! This is the ultimate test of teamwork and loops back around to how hard you worked with him. Don't plan to rush the process right before the horse show. It won't work out in your favor and will just frustrate you, your horse, and your poor trainer. Clear communication between horse and rider is established over a period of time in which you displayed patience and understanding while constantly thinking about how you can show him what you are trying to ask.

TTTRW: You have patience with the most absurd, out of this world person who does speak English! You can get the strong headed office bully to think about things differently because you have thought it through and showed him a different way.

Just because your feet are soaked due to a hole in
your boot doesn't mean the work stops. Rock those wet socks!
All. Day. Long.

Did I mention hard work?
I don't think you all get it. Let's talk a typical timeline for a medium size show barn on show day.

5:00 am - Half wake up. Drag yourself to the barn to feed horses. Grab a cup of coffee and listen to the 10,000 horses (this number might be a touch exaggerated) your barn brought to the horse show contentedly chew their hay. Really, that is one of the best sounds in the world.

5:30am - Clean water buckets and refill.

6:00am - Wash horses showing that day. Full on shower with shampoo, conditioner, the works.

6:30am - Braid, saddle, lunge, and bridle the horse who is in the first class of the morning. This horse is most often the one who requires the most work meaning he is either gray, a total shit unless you lunge him for a solid hour, or hates to have his tail braided. Sometimes he encompasses all of the above plus more!

8:00am - Showtime! And don't think you get to show the horse and be done. HA! No. With the million horses waiting back in the barn, you are bound to be on your feet until at least 8pm tonight. Twelve hours from now. They all need their time in the spotlight, too!

10:00pm - Climb into bed after taking a zombie shower. Set your alarm! You have two more days of this!

Triple T RW: Even when you are struggling because there is a huge project you have to get done at work and you've been in the office for 12 hours, you keep on keeping on. Because you don't get to sit back and relax until the work is done. Some days, you don't get to kick back at all.


Keeping a smile on your face.
On average, you can hope to get 6 hours of sleep a night and that is being generous. Not to mention you aren't just kicking back at the beach. And it's hot. And you will get frustrated with horses and people's attitudes. But guess what? If you lose your shit it just makes it worse for you. No one really wants to be around you and remember that calm, clear line of communication you've worked so hard for between you and your horse? Poof! Gone like the rum on Captain Jack Sparrow's pirate ship.

TTTRW: So your coworker is a pushy bitc... is a bit pushy and rude. It's cool. You've dealt with mares much larger than her who routinely try to kick your head off. This lady isn't going to rock your boat.

This is Ester, a horse I showed once. And worked hard to earn a
Reserve Regional Championship on! 

You don't always get a trophy.
If you spurred your horse too hard into the canter and he answered with a wicked buck for all the world to enjoy, you are not going to get a ribbon. Sometimes you have the best ride of your life, but this particular judge didn't like your outfit so he puts you last. It is a competition and yes, the ultimate goal is to win, but sometimes you win because you got first place, while other times you win because it was a lesson learned.

Translation: Life doesn't always go your way. And sometimes it is really unfair. But you take the good things out of the bad situations and learn from the mistakes you made. And many times, life rewards you for your honesty and hardwork.