Whether riding is a hobby or your profession, sometimes we all need a reminder to set some personal goals. My own reminder arrived this last month in an unrelated vein. Feeling as though my progress has been treading water – neither moving forward nor drowning – I made an ultimatum decision to set some lofty yet reachable goals through the summer.
Goal #1 – Run A Half Marathon!
Yep, that's right… I work out regularly because it improves my riding skills and keeps me happy, not to mention healthy. When you go to the gym regularly and develop a routine, everyone will at some point reach a plateau in their progress, and I am not willing to sit in that stagnation! At just over 13 miles, this half marathon is going to test my dedication mentally and physically. The date is set and there are no refunds so I am locked into this goal!
Goal #2 – Bring Jobi back through his retraining to perform Piaffe, Passage and Flying Lead Changes by mid-September!
We have a lot of ground to cover, but even if we fail we will have made progress in the right direction and any positive progress is the right progress to make.
What was important to me in setting these goals was to pick goals which would not encourage me to sacrifice my safety, my horse's safety, or my ideals. I chose goals which, whether I win or fail I will inevitably enjoy the process even when it is “kicking my butt” difficult. I also chose goals which are not too far out. My marathon kicks off in just under two months.
Have you set any goals in your personal and riding life for this summer? What are they and how will they challenge you to grow?
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Hi Erica!
I’ve been wanting to ride Second Level since 2008.
For many reasons (which I shan’t go into here) this goal has eluded me. Then, last year, I was told to sell my home-bred and trained gelding because he had a bad attitude and a lateral canter.
In tears, I got him evaluated and prepared to sell him.
It took an 18 year old girl to make me keep him. She’d been struggling with her own, exceedingly difficult mare for four years, but is now enjoying great success with her.
So I decided to try again with my beautiful gelding. I completely changed his feed and my riding methods. By the end of last season we had several scores at First Level of 70% and higher.
It was time to shoot for my Second Level goal again!
Since I’ve never been encouraged by any of my trainers to move up a level, it takes a leap of faith in myself to do it. But I’ve been working on the basic movements, and took Cruz to a Fix-A-Test where we scored a respectable 57% and got many helpful tips.
We’re entered in Second Level 1 and 2 at the end of this month (April) so wish us luck!
Like you, I’ve chosen a realistic goal, but one which stretches me. I hope to score in the 60s by the end of the season, but will enjoy the process of training for and riding those tests regardless.
I hope you are successful with your goals for this year, too!
Regards,
Hilary
Hilary,
Thank you for sharing your goal! How exciting to hear about the progress you’ve been making, despite the bumps in the road. While they are frustrating and may feel counterproductive, many times these problematic experiences allow us to grow into more knowledgeable, experienced, open and empathetic riders than we could have been had the road been smooth as silk. 🙂
Good luck on your upcoming test, please share with us how the experience went for you!
Cheers,
Erica
Erica,
My April show got rained out, so I’ll let you know how the one at the end of May goes:)
But in the mean time, I had a lesson with a friend’s instructor, as mine was so busy.
After saying in my first comment that no instructor had ever encouraged me to move up a level, this lady was really enthusiastic about my horse and had no hesitation telling me that – with consistent work – we would have no problem reaching at least Fourth Level.
As you can imagine, this has been a tremendous boost to my riding!
Cheers to you, too! (I am English, so that expression comes naturally.)
Hilary,
Sorry to hear your first show got rained out, wishing you better weather for May. 🙂
How wonderful to hear about the lesson you had with your friends’ instructor! Moments like these really highlight the truth that there are a great many people who first see limitations, and then there are a few who first see possibilities.. glad to see you ran into someone who believes in you and your horse as a team!
Keep me updated, I enjoy hearing about your progress. 🙂
Cheers,
Erica
p.s. I’m not English but just find it suits me more pleasantly than any other salutation. 😉
Hi Erica,
Thanks for the encouragement! I’ll let you know how the next show goes.
How are you doing with your riding goals – and have you run your half-marathon, yet? I do hope it’s going well on both fronts:)
Cheers again,
Hilary
Thanks Hilary, my own goals are progressing. There has been a bit of a plateau on my running, the marathon is in 4 weeks. I’ve discovered that at a certain level of exercise I develop asthma, a very interesting discovery. I’m plugging away though and working to figure the best way to keep it at bay. 🙂
As for my progress with Jobi, I’ve taken to working him in a double bridle right now. He came back with so much pent up tension and resistance through the mouth that I have found warming him up on the curb alone encourages him to stretch down and out and relax from head to tail. Up to this point this was not something I was able to encourage with the snaffle alone where he has experienced a considerable amount of trauma in the mouth with.
Though our goal is piaffe and passage, it is important to remember that without the basics you cannot ask for more advanced work properly. He remembers all the movements from before he left but wants to perform in resistant tension which is far from correct. So, must address the resistance first. Calm, Forward, Straight..
Actually, just finished up a short but beautiful ride this morning with him. 🙂