How to
Make Horse
Showing
FUN AGAIN
Success
comes in
many forms,
so don’t limit
yourself to just
blue ribbons.
T
here may come a time in your horse
show career when you find yourself
saying: Why do I put myself through
this? Am I enjoying this? These feelings
usually arise when you’re under consider-
able stress or after a cycle of disappoint-
ment. It can happen for many reasons, and
when it does, it’s time to put the joy back
into competing with your horse.
24 Miniature Horse World
SUMMER 2017
It’s Just a Horse Show
If you let it, competition can make you
very self-centered. Your thoughts can be-
come consumed with the need to win, and
therefore others need to lose. Enjoyment
goes out the window, and a talented show-
man can end up walking away from some-
thing she loves.
Perceive your horse show as a coopera-
tive act. You and others agree on rules and
codes of conduct in order to compete to-
gether. Much fun can come from focusing
on others. How can you give back to fel-
low equestrians at the shows you frequent?
Could you volunteer or become a part of
a group that helps others? Focusing on
someone else’s needs can be motivating
and fulfilling.