Hello all! Happy Friday!
I want to tell you all to try new things.
A lot of people, especially in the horse world, find one thing they like doing and stick with that one thing. Well, just to let you know there are SOOOOOOO many things that you can do in this world it's crazy to think about sometimes!
Barrel racing, hunt seat, jumping, dressage, western dressage, reining, team penning, roping, polo, eventing, western pleasure, western riding, showmanship, trail riding, driving, saddle seat, ranch riding, and those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. There is so many different things to do, so why would you just try one? Maybe you ride western right now and you try riding english one day and love it. If you wouldn't have taken that leap of faith and just tried it, you wouldn't have ever known how it even felt. There is no reason to just do one thing you're entire horse career.
However, I do agree that there is going to be one or to specific things that really tick your passion and I think that when you truly find that then you should stick with it. I think that it's especially important to try different things when you are first starting out as well. That time is essential to find out who you are as a rider!
The same goes for college. You're freshman year you should get involved in a bunch of different things that you wouldn't do otherwise, but just remember that you can join clubs and activities after your freshman year too. I often see a lot of my friends joining one a club their freshman year and thats the only thing they stick to for the rest of college. Now how is that any fun? If you're an equestrian than you are going to have an advantage to this situation. If you try new things in the horse world, then trying new things in college or at any time in life is going to be that much easier.
For example... I barrel race, yes. I started out in 4H just doing pleasure and the first time I saw a barrel racer I knew that that's what I wanted to do. So I got lessons, watched thousands of Youtube videos (that actually might be a literal number...Oops...), and practiced my little heart out. I love it now and I have figured out that it's what I'm passionate about. I had a stint with reining, cutting, cow work, and even jumping was in there, but I always went back to barrel racing.
Now that I am in college I have a lot more opportunities available to me to start new things. One of my friends was on the polo team here at MSU and I decided to try it out. Now I love it! It's a great sport and I am learning all the techniques and rules now. It's something that I would have never done unless I was comfortable with trying new things and putting myself out there.
So my challenge for all of you, whether you're a horse rider, crafter, runner, or anything else, I want you all to try something new. Just go for it! Remember EVERYONE starts somewhere. Sherry Cervi was once that little kid running 20 second barrel patterns and now she's one of the best barrel racers of all time. Beyonce was once a little girl in beauty pageants that probably couldn't sing single ladies like she does now, but now she's maybe one of the best artist of all times. My point is don't be afraid to try new things. So set a goal and go for it! My new thing for the week is going to be to eat a bite of a tomato. So what's going to be you're new thing? No matter the significance, just try it!
With love,
The Modern Equestrian
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