Riding is a sport that requires a lot of skill,
dedication and determination. It’s not for the
faint at heart, and thankfully money can’t buy
the ability or talent needed excel. Although
most people realize this, sometimes it’s easy
to get caught up in the materialization of the
sport. There is nothing wrong with taking
pride in the overall appearance of horse and
rider, but sometimes I think people take it too
far. I can’t help but notice that at any horse
show I go to, there are a few riders who have
every piece of expensive tack they can fit on
their horse. Their saddles cost more than my
pony did, and yes— that is a new GPA helmet,
probably imported straight from Switzerland.
When I overhear other riders saying they are
worried to be riding against these Material
Girls I wonder why. Is it because they are more
skilled, or is it because my peers have bought
into the mind game that if you have all of the
“right” equipment you must be good. Having
the latest show shirt colour trend or the nicest
saddle does not make you a better rider. There
is no golden ticket in this sport—you’ve got
to work hard in order to succeed. Don’t be
discouraged when you see a Material Girl
in your class or division, be inspired. Go out
there, ride like you mean it and show everyone
that you deserve to be there.
Horses are more than just a hobby and something you enjoy to do. It’s a passion, and a lifestyle choice. I’m not afraid to admit that when people say to me “Oh, my family has horses – I’ve ridden all my life. What do you do, the Equestrian or the one with the horn?” I smile and act interested but inside I’m thinking “No you don’t”.
Of course they’re just being friendly, and trying to connect to me – but there is just so much more than hopping on every couple of months and flopping around compared to actually riding.
Riding has helped to shape me into the person I am. It has introduced me to so many wonderful people who started as acquaintances that shared a similar interest, turned into friends and now I’d consider some of them family. Beyond teaching me the skills to stay on, and not die - it’s taught me patience, dedication, the value of money and the importance of working for what you want. Not everything in life gets handed to you. You need to push yourself, and work hard for what you want. Complaining will not change anything in life, this is especially true with riding because despite what we sometimes think our horses cannot understand what we’re saying.
Currently I’m not riding at all, it’s been a year and a half since I last rode consistently. Before that I rode for almost 10 years, almost everyday. It’s a big change in my life. Surprisingly I don’t think about it as often as I thought I would. I’d like to think it’s because I’m too busy, but in reality I think it’s because I know that I’ll come back to it when the time is right. Passion doesn’t go away, and I find comfort in knowing that one day I’ll ride again.
Do or do not. There is no try.
Now, go forth and ride in the rain – it’s worth it.
In grade 10 I saved up all of my birthday and Christmas money to buy a new pair of riding boots. I finally had enough and purchased them in grade 11. At that time a pair of zip-up Ariat Challenge field boots had a price tag of about $600 and I was extremely excited to get them.
Today I was on a sweater shopping adventure with a friend of mine. It’s a good time to sweater shop, the weather has turned frigid and knits in every colour are available. I walked into a well known store, and was surprised to find a pair of boots on display near the front. They looked exactly like my Ariat’s, except of course the price was $45 dollars. They even had zippers at the back, with little button closures behind the knee. I actually liked them, and might go back and get them in brown.
I couldn’t help but laugh. I know a lot of equestrian people aren’t known for being extremely fashion conscious. Blundstones, jeans and a hoodie aren’t uncommon clothing choices. Who knew that the very boots we’ve all been wearing for years are now “IN“.
I would stop functioning if it weren’t for lists. I have weekly goal lists, lists for schoolwork, lists for horse shows, and my personal favorite – the Christmas list. But before I start on my Christmas list, I’ll stop myself. Why you ask? Simple. I would be breaking my “no Christmas before December rule”. If that happened I would be forced to give myself an uncomfortable talk about the commercialization of holidays and how I don’t agree with it. That is a blog for another day, so without further ado : A list of watches and clocks in the media.
Movie: Alice in Wonderland – The white rabbit who is late, late for an important date!
Movie: Speed - The bomb on the bus is made out of a retirement gift, a cheap watch.
Song: Gwen Stefani – What You Waiting For? …tic toc, tic, toc.
TV: 24 – Each episode is played out in real time with a countdown clock.
Movie: Back to the Future – You need a clock to go back in time!
Move: A Clockwork Orange – for the title alone.
Song: Green Day – Time of Your Life.
Song: Coldplay – Clocks.
Song: Cher – If I Could Turn Back Time
TV: Will and Grace – Jack is obsessed with Cher and her song “If I Could Turn Back Time”
TV: 12 O’clock High – Self explanatory
Movie : 88 Minutes – the lead only has 88 minutes to live!
Movie: Pinocchio – Geppetto is a clock maker.
So what got me thinking about clocks you ask? Today I received an e-mail asking for my opinion about the new Horse Trials rule stating that watches of all kinds will not be permitted for the cross country phase. The rule committee is looking for input to make the rule more user friendly by making changes to the window and speeds. Anyone with an opinion should go to horsetrialsbc.com to voice it.
Music makes the world go round. It’s universal. Communication becomes easy, and all of a sudden language doesn’t matter. It’s no secret that I’m a music lover. I make it a priority to see shows and to experience a wide variety of live music. My list of favorites is long and includes lots of “big” acts such as Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Pearl Jam, Spice Girls and the Killers. I also find it extremely important to discover the smaller bands, and to support local talent.
Mother Mother is a group from Vancouver and their latest album is called O My Heart. It’s absolutely brilliant from track 1 till the end. I had the opportunity to see them three and a half times during the summer and they didn’t disappoint! They are brilliant performers, and bring excellent energy to the stage with unlimited talent. Recently there were shortlisted for “Best Live Act” at the 2009 Bucky Awards. The winner will be announced at the end of December. The newest single off the album is called Hayloft (and yes, I realize this blog is a bit of a stretch in the equine department – but come on – we all have haylofts.) and the music video was just released.
Support local(ish) music, and discover an awesome band.
And don’t hesitate to comment below, would you like to read more about different local acts or should this blog be strictly equestrian based?Also if you haven’t checked out the site for a couple of days there are lots of new auctions!
I don’t know if you’ve noticed that men young and old seem to be sporting more facial hair than usual these days. Some grow plentiful handlebar mustaches and others can barely produce a pathetic sparse shadow. The biggest question is WHY are these public displays of coiffure so predominant right now? And why the heck do they keep on referring proudly to their growths as Mo’s?!
The answer is simple – Movember - an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache, highlighting men’s health issues – specifically prostate cancer. Guys grow a “mo” for awareness, and others collect pledges. A Mo Bro starts Movember – the month formerly known as November – clean shaven, and grows a moustache all month long, garnering support from friends and family in the form of donations. What’s more, a Mo Bro is a walking billboard for the cause as his new look opens the door for him to talk about prostate cancer – making the moustache a symbol, much like the pink ribbon is for breast cancer.
Pat Parelli gets a GOLD STAR from UnTackMe.com for his legit Mo. What would some other well known riders look like if they jumped on the Movember bandwagon?
In case you didn’t recognize the last two riders, thats your very own UnTackMe.com crew!
Yesterday was Friday the 13th, somehow the day got away from me and before I knew it it was after 1:30am.
Friday the 13th is a day of superstitions and luck. Some people don’t leave their houses, while others think that the day will bring them good luck. Others cannot see the big deal at all and think that it is a waste of energy. That’s the same with any superstition, so I thought it would be interesting to look at some other superstitions surrounding the equestrian livestyle.
Grey horses are supposed to be lucky .
Horseshoes are supposed to be lucky and must be hung right side up.
The luckiest horseshoe of all is the one off the hind leg of a large grey mare.
Putting on your right boot before left to bring goodluck.
A cowboy hat on your bed is bad luck.
Horse brasses were used to protect horses from witches.
Changing a horse’s name is bad luck.
If you break a mirror the misfortune can be averted if you lead a horse through the house. Same applies if you spill salt in the kitchen.
horseshoe hung in the bedroom will keep nightmares away.
A strip of sheepskin on a horse’s collar was once used as a prevention against the evil eye
There is the age old stereotype that people who ride horses are spoiled, stuck up and catty. You hear of terrible rumors, attitudes and people, but personally I’ve always just thought it was a bit of a wives tale. I’ve encountered my fair share of horse people, from a wide variety of disciplines spanning three different countries and two continents. I’ve met a lot of great people through this sport, some of them have become my best friends.
I am a student, my program is intensive and I barely have time to watch TV let alone ride these days. I’ve murmur’s in the last while about a new show on CMT called UnStable. It follows a pro-rider, her (alleged) best friend and a barn manager opening a new Equestrian Facility. Last night I had a couple of free hours (Okay, no I didn’t – but I didn’t feel like going to bed so I stayed up 2 hours longer than usual) so I logged onto CMT.ca to see what all the fuss was about.
Oh my god! I couldn’t stop watching, but it was terrible! I really hope that the show is scripted, because the anger that all of the characters on that show experience in a day is horrifying. One of the absolute lows was when the pro rider “Allie” (coincidentally the same name as one of my best friends!) starts having a fight on horseback with a fellow competitor at a horse show. It sounds like they’re 7 years old, literally saying things like “My horse is better than yours!”. It was mind blowing.
If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out. If you have, well you know, and you’re probably already hooked.
In today’s time of Twitter, Facebook, digital cable and and the kindle it’s no secret that traditional mediums such as radio, local TV and print are dying. I find it interesting to see how different businesses are getting around these new found challenges, and are managing to grow with the times and find a successful way to be profitable.
Newspapers are transitioning to online, TV stations are putting content on the web and downsizing dramatically. In order to stay relevant businesses of all types are jumping on the “Web 2.0 Bandwagon” and realizing the importance of social media as a means of communication.
Although the book industry hasn’t seen much of a negative impact during the economic downturn, magazines are seen as unnecessary and have had a dramatic decrease in sales. To make matters worse companies have cut advertising budgets, which is a main source of income for magazines and newspapers.
Tonight I found a fresh idea – an online Eventing magazine called Outside Rein. So far there is one issue out, but already have big names on board. From Lendon Gray to Phillip Dutton, and many other interesting articles along the way. The photography is really well done, and it is easy to read.
Apparently is full of helpful hints of what you should and shouldn’t wear for your body type. Haha, personally I just find it to be a hilarious concept.
