Things To Think About

- Eventers get better with age. Great article - in short, the average age the top 4* event riders is around 38. The older riders win more than the younger.

Take home message: Keep on keeping on, there's time to get there. In eventing, older might actually equal wiser. Also, there's an added bonus - your elderly body will thank you for staying active throughout your life.  

-Hours, not years.
Me : "I'm never going to get this - I've been struggling with it for a whole year now!"

EC : "OK. Let's be real about this. You ride "lots" - like 5 days a week. So, let's say that adds up to 250 hours a year actively schooling, with maybe 60 of those in a lesson. At your "real" job would you expect to learn anything or make progress if you worked those kinds of hours annually? No? See - you're doing pretty well for the amount of time invested!"

Take home message: If you must keep track, think of it in hours rather than years. Unless you're a pro riding 8 hours a day. Then go right ahead and talk in years!

- It's supposed to be fun. I love this video clip. While not horsey, I find it inspiring. I watch it every time I am feeling down or doubtful about the amount of time and money I spend on this horse thing. This video makes me smile every single time and reminds me of why I do it. Here's a person who I think the world would agree is pretty legendary from a talent and career standpoint. He's got every excuse to be tired and jaded. Yet, he appears to still be just as excited about this record as he was the first time he experienced it.

Take home message: Follow your passions, enjoy the moment, and never, ever be too cool to play air guitar :)

- You probably can't ruin your horse.
"The average adult ammy does not need to worry about ruining their horse. Confuse them? Teach then bad habits? Yes, you can do that! But it's all fixable. And it's certainly not going to happen in a week or two of bad rides! Don't worry so much about potentially making mistakes. Horses are very forgiving and there is no perfect rider." (More EC wisdom)

Take home message: Hard work and consistency will win over time - even if you've made a million mistakes along the way.

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