Thoughts on Competing as a Youth

This evening I did a short interview regarding my experiences competing at horse shows as a youth.  Here is the interview:

1 - What are some positive and negative aspects of competition?
Horse competition is very different from other types of competing because it's not a level playing field.  As a runner you have control over whether you conditioned and trained sufficiently to win.  With most horse shows you're paying for one person's opinion, and you never know when a plastic bag will fly across the arena while you're riding and ruin your chances of first place.  A negative aspect is money for expensive tack, horse, training, will give you better chances of winning when hard work won't necessarily earn you anything competitively.  A positive is the work ethic that comes with caring for a horse to get it show ready, and learning that training time is well spent even if it doesn't result in winning. 

2 - What did you do to minimize negative aspects?

I changed my perspective and learned to ignore the other kids (and adults) who thought winning was everything.  I also had a good instructor who saw my frustration and low estimation of my own skills because I always lost.  My instructor was able to get me a season of competing on an older, schooled horse on whom I could show my actual skills and win.  My instructor was careful to remind me regularly that the only thing you learn from winning is that you can.  I learned far more from riding and showing challenging horses than I ever did from winning.  But she knew I needed to learn I was a good rider and I COULD win with the right horse.

3 - How do you see it in hindsight?

In hindsight I'm grateful I came in last all the time because I was riding difficult horses.  It taught me to value the process of training and preparing for competition, to emphasize the journey not the destination.  Competition came to mean performing better than I did at the previous show.  As an adult I see kids who win, and then when they suddenly don't win or it gets hard they quit riding.  It's people who grew up like I did, valuing the process of training, who go on to become successful professionals in the sport. 

4 - How did it change you?

It made me into a more patient person.  Waiting for years for my first blue ribbon on a horse that I trained myself meant much more to me than the medals I won on the finished horse I borrowed. 

5- What would you do differently?

In a perfect world I would be fabulously wealthy and able to afford to train with bigger names in the industry, thus making the connections necessary to gain sponsorship to compete at a higher level and internationally.  In real life I wouldn't change anything. 

 

6 - What advice would you give to other people in that situation?

I would counsel you to decide if you really love it.  If you don't, you're merely spending an awful lot of time, money, and energy on a dangerous hobby.  If you do love it, I would tell you to stick with it.  Your merit is not determined by competition standings, your worth not contained in your ribbons, your abilities not measured in medals.  For those who love it, it's worth every drop of sweat.  For those who don't, go find what does light you up and spend yourself on what fills you.