A time to show, a time to rest

It's been a busy season for the Trinity Team. We've had some additions to our lineup of wonderful horses, some changes to our goals, and a few upgraded goals that happened midway through the qualifying period, and proved worth the extra effort it required. 

Showing is exciting, showing is also emotionally, physically and (let's face it) financially draining. When I compete my own horses on my own dime I feel the kick in the gut when the check to the show manager shows up on my statement just like everyone else. And then there is the cost to my family, for being away, not answering my phone because I'm too busy warming up a horse or cooling down a horse or chatting with a client or double checking I know my test.... those moment are even more costly. 

I was happy to see the cooler weather start moving in, and the hot sunny days that were right on cue for almost every single weekend this show season fade away. If worrying about the horses wasn't enough, we all actually started worrying about ourselves this year and I found out that I had perhaps exceeded my limit for fun-in-the-sun in a riding helmet. Now I may no longer be able to be the snob that soldiers on fashionably after jackets are waived. (But I may just cut off the sleeves and go with vests!)

As important as it is to compete, to push yourself, to expose your horse to the things that make them a better horse for next year, it is equally important to rest; to take stock, to appreciate, to celebrate to second guess and allow yourself to learn from your mistakes quietly and without people around. 

Wel all have limits. They are all different. And our priorities are not always set by the needs of our horses or the potential of their abilities, but by thug completely unrelated to this craziness we call dressage. My limits are often set by the size of the laundry pile, the state of my paddocks fencing in my backyard, a family vacation so we can reconnect, seeing my parents, when both sets are thousands of miles away, and even by the third grade bully or the corporate Christmas dinner party. These have nothing to do with "at x halt, salute."

I have allowed my tack to be unloaded off the trailer and tossed into my tack room at home for a spell. My horses have unshaven whiskers and their manes are going to get a little long for braids. But we all need a rest. And afterward, we will have new goals worth getting heatstroke for next year. 

Next blog- from the sands of a beach far far away.