Get Back Up and Shake It Off

Recently one of my students from Virginia called me to talk about all the setbacks that came with 2014 and her concern for what 2015 would bring. Being one who is far too familiar with having the rug pulled out from underneath of me, I told her exactly what I’ve been telling myself for the last few months. While life with horses can take you to your lowest of lows, the high points are what make it all worth it. The only way to deal with the lows is to take it in stride just like everything else in life. During our conversation I told her about my recent setbacks and what that has not only taught me as a trainer and competitor, but also as a person. Last year, my FEI mare Diamonds R Forever, did a number on herself playing in the field. I believe my vet’s exact words were “It looked like she put her leg through a blender.”   Having just qualified for the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, as well as being one of the first and only individuals to be selected to compete in the 2014 FEI Nations cup, I could not have been more devastated.
            While I felt like everything had just been taken away from me in a matter of minutes, I realized I had one of two choices; I could either let this setback defeat me, or I could pick myself back up and fight. After working with my amazing vet to get Diamonds on the right road to recovery, I started working on how to bring myself back from this impediment. I allowed myself one self pity day, I then started talking to those closest to me and venting all of my emotions. My mother being one of my biggest supporters told me that things would get better in time and that I just had to have a little faith. After thinking it over I accepted that my mother was right, as she usually was, and that things like this happen for a reason.
            At the time I didn’t realize it, but my next up and coming young horse was what I now believe to be that very reason. I had just purchased Diamonds’ six year old son, Rhett Butler, about six months before things started going downhill and it was now his turn to get my undivided attention. Rhett and I had just completed his first recognized event at first level, scoring just under 70 percent, which qualified us for the GAIG Championships. Rhett is just as talented as his mother, with probably just as much of an opinion, but with a little more sensibility behind his reactions.  Appreciating his abilities, I started focusing on building my career with him which was enough to keep me from letting my most recent setbacks get me down.
            Now a year later with Diamonds rehabbing and Rhett going strong I realized how quickly things in this sport can change. Whether it be for the better or worse, the only thing we as riders can do is keep moving forward. The main idea I left my student with was that focusing on the positive while fighting through the battles is the only way to be successful in this sport and in life. If I have learned nothing else from this past year, it’s that you are the only person standing in the way of your success.