I've been having a great debate of sorts with some of my friends.
Me: Pro-Showing
I believe showing is a measure of progress - how well you and your horse are improving, and learning; how you and horse are progressing in training; how well you two can band together during stressful situations.
I view my riding career as a journey - the destination, I guess, being the best rider I can possibly be. That means different things for different people. Horse shows are kind of like rest stops for me, where I can check the map and make sure I'm headed in the direction I want to be going, and then analyze the journey so far and try to make improvements. Where a lot of people get messed up is when they make showing the destination.
Plus, for me, showing is fun! Sure, sometimes I get wrapped up in the drama of it all - frustration, disappointment, politics - but mostly I savor the competition! I may be anthropomorphizing too much, but Blue seems to enjoy it, too. He really steps up to the occasion and appears to be more well-behaved at shows than he is at home!
Friend: Anti-Showing
Horse shows are a nice concept, but really not worth it. If you have any serious showing aspirations, you must have a certain type of horse, and you have to shell out some serious money to do so. Judges will refuse to place you for minutiae, and take one daring step and you become the scorn of your peers. You have no life, and you're much better off sticking to pleasure riding.
I can see an argument for either side. What do you think?
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13 years ago
3 comments:
Now, granted, I don't show at the recognized level, but it is something I'd like to do, albeit on a limited level, in the future. But I think my side applies equally to both local showing and larger ones.
I'm for showing if that's what you enjoy.
I haven't been to any recognized shows either -- it's all schooling shows for me, as those have presented more than enough challenge while I take up greenish horses. It can be expensive, but not terribly so. Obviously, if you're campaigning a horse, trying to qualify for some big thing, etc, it's going to be a lot more expensive...but that's a choice you make.
The points your friends make are very specific to a preconceived notion of showing. If you truly have serious showing aspirations, you will find a way to make it work -- find a diamond in the rough horse and bring it up, ride as a working student for a big hunter barn, whatever. Yes, it's very hard, but you obviously wouldn't be doing it if you didn't want to, and they clearly don't, so they shouldn't. It's like me saying that it's not worth it to pursue a career in music, because it's ridiculously hard to make any money at it, many people have better connections than me, luck can have a huge part in it, the music industry is elitist....yeah, SO? That doesn't matter to people who love music and want to pursue it as their passion. No reason for me to tell them not to.
If you don't have serious showing aspirations, their points are basically moot. Further, it is only in a few disciplines that "judges will refuse to place you for minutiae" and your peers will scorn you for being daring. Many disciplines are not like this at all, my personal favorite being eventing, but that's just me. I'm pretty sure that no matter what discipline you're in, it's possible to find like-minded individuals who are neither snobby nor scornful.
Finally -- I enjoy showing, much as I do get stressed out and cranky sometimes. It's a chance to get out and have fun; I've made a lot of friends at horse shows. It's a fun way to check your progress, like you mentioned. I do enjoy riding and training at home, but to be honest, I also love the joy of competition. Does that mean I go to shows to win? Jesus, of course not, I'm still a long way off from that. Does that mean I go to recognized shows? Nope, still in schooling-show territory. But the fact remains that I really enjoy competing. The rush I get from doing a dressage test, running an XC course, and then completing a stadium course is not really comparable to staying at home, schooling flatwork, then logs and hay bales outside, then doing some fences in the ring.
So there's a novel to give you my opinion ;)
I like novels, manymisadventures. ;)
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