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| photo creds: my dad :) |
The smell of horse poop, perfume and fresh air always greets me when I step out into the barn. The horse's shrill whinnies, kicks and snorts decorate the air, along with girls laughter. Blue skies and green fields of pens, corrals and arenas surround the barn. It has a big blue metal roof, and red metal surrounding the wooden stall doors. Horses of all colors; gray, brown, black, and strawberry roan peek out of them, anxiously waiting for food in their buckets or a stroke on the neck by a little girl passing by. Happy and fat as they can be. In the barn by the cross ties, locker room, and the office; high school girls chat about boyfriends, mean girls, and rich parent problems, all while they brush off the horses shiny coats. But what it really comes down to, is that we all just really love horses. Everyday, hour, minute, and second spent in the saddle is to improve skills, in order to win, to do your best. Really, it's just like any other sport. We work hard, and trust me, it's a ton of work. And, no, don't even try to tell me that all we do is go out there and sit on a horse. It is SO much dedication and crazy hard. Because when you step into the ring, all those little petty high school problems disappear. Now it's the problems of Susan yelling, screaming, and glaring at you while you frantically try to make it perfect and your horse has other plans... (they
do say practice makes perfect!) But at the shows, its just you and your partner. The feel of sand crunching under the horses feet as you step into the show ring. Acknowledge the judge. Begin. As you approach the first jump, you have to have the leg and core strength perfectly balanced; up, over and on the backside as you have just the right feel of the reins, in order for him (my horse) to pull up his legs and clear the jump.Then, from there on out, the course consists of tight turns, beautiful jumps, and speeds as fast as lightning (that's what it feels like anyway!) Its a crazy rush of adrenaline, so much fun, scary as hell, and pretty dang hard.
That's a jumper course for ya! But then, when you win, and it all pays off? When your galloping around the ring with ribbons streaming off and flowers held in the air? It just feels so good. Best. Thing. Ever. Like everything you've been working so hard for, it was so worth it.And I know it's not just me. When you win a tournament, or a cheer competition, or a basketball game, somehow I bet you feel the same way. But its not just winning that makes me happy, and trust me, I know how to lose too! Its also all the little things. It going out to the barn and just hacking, and galloping like wild Indians in the field bareback with friends and wind blowing through your hair, and the horse bucking and running with that feel of freedom (in a good way) as you just laugh and almost fall off, which just makes y'all laugh even more. Its giving your horse a bath and watching little bubbles trickle down his fur, and hoping that maybe, just maybe he will actually decide to stay clean for at least twenty-four hours... And then its just getting caught up in excitement of a new lesson, or the achievement of a new goal, and forgetting about all the homework you have to do later when you get back to normal life. Its just all those little things.I think that's why I have done riding my whole life, why I'll never quit, and why I love it so much.
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