Best Laid Plans
See my “2014 Show Schedule” in the right hand side bar of my blog?
Get a good look at it, because I’ll be taking it down in a few days.
Why? Because at this point it’s kind of a joke and extremely inaccurate. I’ve officially shifted my mindset from “We will show all the shows!” to “We will show when it seems fun and financially feasible.”
I bring this up, because I made the decision this week to skip all the March shows. There were a few options in there, including the coveted 2’6″ Hunter Derby that I want to do so badly. So why skip them all, you say? Honestly there are a lot of reasons.
I don’t feel ready. We could probably get some good rides in and go get around, but I would be surprised if the results were stellar. I like to show when I am very calm and confident about our current level of performance… and I don’t feel that way right now. Plus, the first show is March 1st which is really soon.
Even though we could scrape our act together and go, the thought of smushing lots of training and prep into a short time period kind of makes me anxious. Thus far 2014 has been a giant stress ball for me. It sounds a lot more appealing to take things slow, do careful and correct prep and go show when I am more relaxed and confident.
There are fun things on the horizon including cross country schooling with my barn in late March. Also, a big reason for my current brokeness (my saddle) should be arriving within the next two weeks. Yay! Additionally my trainer is really awesome and has created all sorts of fun jumps in our ring to prep for the derbies coming up. There’s hay bales, flower barrels, and even a picnic table! Lessons are going to be really fun.
The plan right now is show a weekend show in April, and do the 2’6″ Hunter Derby at the end of April. But… a plan is just a hopeful schedule. We’ll see how things go.
I feel a lot better about waiting than I do rushing to get ready for early March shows. Since Simon and I are in no real timeline, it just makes more sense right now. I think we both have already breathed a big sigh of relief!
14 thoughts on “Best Laid Plans”
Sowing is supposed to be stressful, but not THAT stressful. I think you made a great decision! I backed off from shows at the end of last year and don’t regret it a bit!
Oops! SHOWING! Silly phone!
I’m so jealous that you have the opportunity to show all year round. Our show season is from around the end of May to the middle of Sept. Spending money on shows you are ready for and have a good chance of doing well at is better than going to shows and either being upset that you spent the money, or upset that you weren’t ready enough.
Fair call.
It is always best to put your horse & your well-being first. Mental & physical for both – stress takes the fun out of things and at the end of the day we ride/keep/own horses for fun 🙂
Don’t feel bad! Good for you for making the right decision for you and your horse. Showing is definitely not the end-all-be-all; Connor and I have made a lot of progress over the last two years and only done one Dressage show and two events. You do what you need to do and keep on trucking at home, and showing will happen when it’s supposed to.
I think that you always get less done when you are cramming stuff in, rather than more. Especially with horses! So now you can relax and knock them out in April 🙂
Nothing worse than added stress to a show which is already stressful. Sounds like a good decision to me.
Hunter Derby in April? That sounds awesome! March came (and is not even here yet) too quickly! I’ve already got my trainer asking about new shows on Ellie and I’m all like- umm you know I’m broke now right?
Don’t stress. There will always be another show! I personally think it’s always good to feel prepared when you head into a show and if it’s not right at the time, it’s not right.
There will always be more shows and horses wll always destroy our plans!
There’s plans, and then there’s reality. Things change over time, and it’s only fair to ourselves and our horses to change our plans accordingly. If you’re feeling relief over no shows in March, that’s a sign you’ve made the right decision. As you said, you’ve got time! Show when it’s fun and comfortable, not when you feel like you HAVE to do it.
Showing is stressful enough as it is when you do feel ready. There’s no shame in waiting. You’ll probably appreciate it even more once you do start up again!
Ugh, I feel you. Now I’m regretting novice at southern pines… will we even make it around the xc course!? Who knows. I way over-estimated my horse’s abilities, assuming he’d be just like he was last fall when we left off. Oops! I do hope you get some good non-stressful shows in in April 🙂
We’re adult ammies. 🙂 We have to keep it fun.