Working Our Way Back

When I returned to riding in late spring, I was so excited about being able to compete again, Alfie had been kept in work and I knew he was tuned and ready to ride.  But then the unexpected happened, I just could not ride well.  It was humbling, I just thought I'd step back in and be where I was when I left off, winning a few tricolors at some nice shows. My riding was really bordering on terrible and I became so frustrated and angry.  My trainer did not know what to do with me.

Like many, I think in retrospect that I was just too caught up in this instant gratification world we all live in.  Working hard for something?  Not getting your desired end result? It was a wake up call of sorts but it so easy in this technological age to just expect to get what you want, period. I don't think people feel like they have to work really hard anymore to get what they want whether in work, sports, fashion, etc.

I am reading a book about Lauren Bacall and it's truly inspiring to learn how hard she worked while in New York, to get a big break. She worked as an usher on Broadway, knocked on doors, did everything she could to get into acting.  She hit many brick walls. She failed a few times but she kept at it.  You don't see people doing that today very much.

 

So after a few very unhappy and frustrating months, I brought Alfie back home and I took a break from it all and I regrouped. At one point I decided to sell him (and had someone who wanted to buy him) but I changed my mind and decided it was really me and not him. He was the same horse I have had for many years. The owner/rider was the problem.  I realized that after not riding for a year, after suffering a major injury and not being 20-something that I would need to start back at zero and work my way back. So I have been doing that. It's been painful, not fun, hard work, frustrating at times, but you know, having to really work for something again is just so rewarding in the end. Are we there yet?  No, not yet, but we are making progress. 

Hard work pays off. Tenacity, perseverance, not getting what you want all the time, it just makes the success that much sweeter.  How have we all gotten so off track?