V- Victories!!

Victories, no matter how small are important when working with horses.  They can try our patience and frustrate us.  They can scare us to death also!  Then they can work so willingly and lovingly that we are reminded why we love these animals so much!

 

Saturday I assisted as a runner for the Whispering Winds first show in a four show series.  They are schooling shows and help new riders learn and practice.  The morning started off in the indoor arena for dressage.  It was cold!  I was in charge of running to the judge trailer at the end of the arena to pick up the results of each test and bring them back so D could enter them into the horse show database.  Then in the afternoon outside when it was warmer there were several jumping classes and a hunter on the flat class.

I also ran about updating the jumping class entries on the clipboards a couple people had for coordinating the entries.  More and more people kept adding their kids to the classes.

Z, a beautiful Clydesdale/Mustang cross won several 1st places with his owner.  One girl on a tough little welsh pony with a really short stride trot and all attitude kept placing in the 4ths, 5th or 6th.  Both had the biggest grins like they won the Kentucky Derby!!!  The kid with the difficult horse was delighted that her mare didn't buck!  Small victory!  I think she did great!

There was one child, not from the farm, that apparently had been scared earlier when her mare spun out from a jump and the rider was almost unseated.  During her run through her class, with her instructor in the arena the mare was still up to disobedient antics.  The girl was in tears as the mare kept refusing or running out from the jump.  She persisted and even when the horse just walked over the small jump the little crowd watching applauded with vigor.  Good job!

Sometimes you can't get it all from your horse, fear can cripple you and you need to just take a step back and figure out how you can get at least one small victory.  Hopefully this girl will keep at it and work with her horse and gain confidence in herself so the horse then sees her as the boss mare.

We've all been there right!  You lose confidence, you have a fall, an almost fall.....something that scares you and then the horse picks up on it and it seems like a never ending downward spiral.  It doesn't have to be if you realize that horses aren't ambitious.  You have to swallow your pride and forget that you won't get that ribbon and just deal with what you have at the moment.  Get one step in the right direction, two steps....small victories will built up until you have those larger victories.  Good luck to all those struggling, keep at it and count all those tiny victories!!