Be the "I did it Rider"

The horse world is a very hard place to be.  You can be at the top one minute then at the bottom the next.  In reality the bottom can last a long time for some people.   You read the stories of the odd few that have "made it" and you wish it was you.  You are envious.  You try and try but things just do not seem to go exactly right. 

It is funny how us horse people set our sights on the olympics (and only the olympics for some reason) when if you look at it realistically the odds of having the horse, the money, the soundness, the support and all of your lucky stars aligned all together at the same time and then make it only to have all of that happen once every four years the odds are really not that great.  Probably 99 percent of horse people will end up in disappointment all because of the statistical improbability of 'making it' to the Olympics. 

For some reason we keep the dream alive.  Is it punishment that we seek?  Is it a false sense of reality?  Have we been brought up in an equestrian society that places all emphasis on "You are only good if you have been to the Olympics"?  Therefore we think that in order to be good or have others see you as good that we have to strive for the Olympics.  Strange.  Self defeating.  But then again some people that you know have had that success and you start to think - hey if she/he can maybe I can too.  The horse person returns to the dream.  The horse person has to dream.  Without dreams there are no goals, no hopes, no aspirations.  But more often than not that single Big dream won't come true.  But we still dream as there is that one chance in a million that your dream will come true and if it did that would be the most possibly be the most amazing feeling in the world.  On the other hand not making it after trying and trying - would that not be worse - a life filled with self defeat?

So that being said continue to dream.  Dream  big dreams but also dream smaller dreams.  Smaller dreams would also be considered smaller goals.  More realistic goals.  More attainable goals.  If one has smaller goals then would have some feeling of success, satisfaction, and self esteem will be achieved.  I really like having the one star, two star etc as it gives a FEI experience while still being within reach.  So with that in mind I have set a goal of competing Prelim this year on Quest and doing at least a CCI * or CIC * with him.  Realistic, attainable, possible.  I will still maintain the dream of competing a high level again however my small dream is Prelim/one star and see where it takes us. 

The moral of this is take the Olympic dream out of the equation (don't lose it just put it to the side) and put in broader more general attainable big dreams and also add in some smaller dreams/goals in hopes of being the rider who 'did it' (ie.  rode Advanced) rather than the rider who "said she was going to the Olympics but never made/did it."  I want to be the rider who strived to be competent at Intermediate and  accomplished it - the "I did it rider".  I will give this a try and see what happens.