A Different World

It’s great to get out of your comfort zone.  It’s even better to be exposed to new or different ways of doing things.  It shakes things up a bit and leaves you thinking. 

Through my day job, I was lucky enough to end up at a 4H/FFA horse show over the weekend.  Having grown-up in Pony Club, 4H is definitely a different atmosphere.  For example, in Pony Club, its all about taking proper care of your horse and equipment and parents are hands off.  The kids need to learn to do it themselves, so during shows the barns are off-limits to the parents.  There are plenty of older riders and adults in the barns to help out and to supervise, so don’t worry about the little ones being trampled or left crying because “Giraffe” won’t put his head down to be bridled.  To my outsider’s eyes, 4H shows are a family affair.  They roll-in with a trailer full of kids, tack and horses.  The parents help sort the various outfits and tack into piles on the ground, while the kids pile onto the ponies, often more than one child per horse. 

It’s a very different world.  My knee jerk reaction was to shout from the roof tops that they weren’t doing it right.  My second thought was to bury my head and hide, sure someone or some horse was going to be horribly hurt, but since humans seem to be drawn to catastrophe, I kept watching.

Although it was definitely a foreign experience, I noticed several similarities that left me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.  One girl was tirelessly scrubbing on her gray horse and even combed out his tail.  Big brownie points from me!  I spoke with one father who proudly pointed out his three girls.  “I’m a paramedic; my girl’s are the ones in helmets.”  Sure enough, in a sea of bare heads, ball caps, and cowboy hats, three girls were wearing their helmets proudly.  Safety first!  And the kids, for the most part, warmed their horses up on their own while their parents took care of the paper work and set up lawn chairs.  No one was shouting at them from the sidelines, telling them they were doing it wrong.  Most importantly, the kids were having fun.

I’m guessing they ranged in age from five or six to eighteen.  Horse wise, there were really fancy Fox-Trotters, ornery Arabs, a couple of really nice – I have no idea what breed- young horses, and many good old Quarter horses, plus the token Appy.  There were riders who clutched at the horn to stay on and riders who made Ride-a-Buck look like an equitation class at an “A” rated Hunter Show.  

There are things from “my world” I wouldn’t trade for anything.  Like helmets, properly fitted tack, and knowing how to bandage a leg without doing more harm than good, but there are many things we can take away from a day at a 4H Fun Show, starting with…

 1) A little fun.  It’s great to have high aspiration, to set goals to keep you and your horse progressing, but the second it quits being enjoyable, it’s time to re-access.  Plus, it’s okay to have days that are just for fun.  Go for a trail ride, swim in the pond, whatever – but remember safety first.  It quits being fun when you or your horse gets hurt. 

2) Although many Dressage Kings and Hunter Princesses would lead you to believe differently, horses are horses.  Yes, they deserve adequate care, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get their feet wet or that the flapping white tent is simply too much for them to handle.  It is not below them to stand tied at a trailer for a few hours.  They will survive. 

3) The worth of the horse isn’t based on its bloodlines, trainer, or how pretty it is.  A horse’s true value is in his heart and ability.  There are plenty of backyard bumpkins that are worth far more than their weight in gold for what they do, what they don’t do and what they teach kids to do.  Give me a horse I can jump on bareback and go play with any day over a stuck-up freaked out Grand Prix Jumper.

I drove away from the fairgrounds wishing I could go back in time and ride my pony with those kid’s.  I might have showed up in my English saddle, but we would have given them a run for their money in poles, ride-a-buck, and maybe even egg and spoon.  We came from very different worlds, but horses bridged the gap.  Maybe in the future the lesson will run both ways.  They’ve opened my eyes about the value of horses in 4H/FFA, maybe I can share a thing or two I learned from Pony Club with them.     

Sometimes you just have days like this...

After a year off due to wedding planning, house building and other fun activities I was lucky enough to return to the Annual GiGi Clinic hosted by Horse and Hound Pony Club.  I think this makes year twelve or so and it’s always a fabulous time.  Even when my rides don’t go very smoothly.

Gigi is known for her “carrying” voice and using the course to teach the lessons.  From the moment she steps outside in the morning to her final step out of the arena, she’s teaching.  You can learn almost as much by jumping crewing and listening in as you can riding.  She’s a huge asset to the sport and a gem of a human to boot.  But enough about Gigi, let’s talk about that crazy photo!

Embracing the spirit of a Horse Dad, Don Hovis spent the entire Gigi clinic in the arena taking photos of every horse and rider.  WAY TO GO!!!!  It’s thanks to his dedication that we get gems like the photo above, plus many, many more.  Did I mention it was near 100° each day, but I digress... 

Nutmeg and I obviously didn’t have the best day.  Ironically, she is almost always a steady-eddy.  The horse I can depend on to have a peaceful, if not always foot perfect, trip around.  Well, for the Gigi Clinic she decided to switch things up a bit and put on a pair of sparkly shoes I didn’t even know she owned.  It took a while to adjust to the new monster under me, but things did progress and we finished the lesson much better than we started which is always the ultimate goal.

Admiral, normally the trouble-maker of the two, was surprisingly good.  Sure we had a few disagreements about going over the jumps and some “balance please” reminders, but I think he was trying to make me feel better after Nutmeg’s less than awe inspiring performance.   He’s just that kind of guy.  Making you feel better when the chips are down.     

Some people find it hard to believe that horses have individual personalities, that they have good days and bad days.  They’re really just like us.  The trick is to learn from every moment and appreciate every ride.  I’ll admit I headed home from the Gigi Clinic a little bummed.  I went seeking the euphoria of a day packed with learning.  A day basking in the sunshine with friends and horses.  A day to show off what a wonderful horse Nutmeg is and a day to learn a few tricks to help make Admiral more ride-able. 

I headed home only half-full, thinking I hadn’t really learned that much.  Turns out, I just needed to look beyond the obvious.  It wasn’t a day to learn some new revolutionary way to ride.  After all, the basics of riding haven’t changed in hundreds of years.  It was a day to learn a little more about the horses I’m currently riding.  Nutmeg isn’t always going to be perfect and Admiral isn’t always the problem child.  Preconceived notions prevented me from enjoying the day for what it was, fun in the sun with two terrific animals and my friends.  It’s time I take a Fresh Perspective.  It's time to take my own advice and ride the horse that comes out of the pasture, be it a Celestial Steed or a Chestnut Mare, and be happy to be riding at all. 

Leg On.

If there is one thing horses teach, its perseverance.    They teach that through perseverance an average rider can become a top trainer.  They’ve proven that, through perseverance, a spooky off-the-track mare can gallop around cross-country without missing a step.  Horses have a knack at persuading their humans to drag out of bed at four in the morning to feed and change blankets in the sub-zero temperatures with the sole reward being a whicker or two.  And horses teach us that, no matter what, leg on.

I remember when my first pony decided we should go swimming.  Completely against my will, I ended up in the middle of the pond still atop the pony.  Nothing to do but leg on.  When he'd put his head between his legs to eat grass I'd hear "Leg On" from multiple on-lookers.  I guess it stuck because when we sold him, I sat down behind the asparagus patch and cried as the trailer pulled away.  But, I knew he was going to a good home, so I got back up and found a new horse to leg on.

She was an Arab mare prone to refusals and jigging down the trail.  Leg on.  It took miles and miles of teethe gritting jigging and refusal after refusal, but we became a team that could go anywhere and do anything.  Hunters, Jumpers, Games, Polocrosse, Competitive Trail, Driving, Foxhunting.  There were times I hit the ground and times I wanted to get off and walk home, but instead it was always leg on.  Fittingly, when I lost her suddenly to a lightning strike, the condolences all reminded me while it hurt like crazy, it wasn't the end.  Leg on. 

I was lucky enough to have another mane to cry into.  Another horse to devote my time to.  Another partnership to form.  She tried my patience, but she also taught me to laugh.  You can only gallop backwards around the arena so long before it becomes comical, so laugh a little and leg on.  I literally had to drag her, on foot, into her first water jump, but she never batted an eye at water after that.  In fact, she had a perfect cross country record.  Sometimes, the greater the battle, the sweeter the victory.  Yee-haw and leg-on.  Several years into our partnership, she developed an extremely aggressive cancer and was gone a little over a year after that.  I had time to say good-bye, time to find yet another partner, time to convince my legs to leg on.

If you study horse people, you’ll find they are a group of people who simply don’t give-up (to a fault sometimes).  They’ll mortgage the house to pay the vet bill.  They’ll enter that big show, knowing the chances of winning are one in one hundred.  They’ll carve six hours out of their day to feed their old horse with no teeth or to soak the leg with just a little swelling.  They’ll hand walk a horse recovering from an injury for twenty minutes every day for weeks on end.  They’ll dash into a burning barn to save one last horse.  Horse people are crazy persevere.

Eventing lost six amazing horses this past week in a barn fire.  It has devastated the eventing community, but none of us gave up and sold our horses.  We went out and had a good jump school.  We took a nice hack through the woods.  We gave them a big pat, a couple of extra cookies, and cried in their manes.  Then we figured out what we could do to help those directly affected by the True Prospect fire because that’s what eventers do.  We leg on.

Sticky spot to the trakehner?  Leg on.  Chip into a combination?  Leg on.  Green moment at the ditch?  Chin-up, leg on.  Less that stellar show?  Leg on.  Unfair judging?  Leg on.

Through life’s greatest hardships…Leg on.