So over the last month or so has been a rollercoaster…
The month started great, I took Finn to his first ridden show.
It was all a bit nerve wracking as I hadn't been competing for well over a year and there is always that added pressure I put on myself of am I good enough, have I done enough to prepare my horse?
I started from scratch with Finn after semi retiring Ditsy and after one thing after the other going wrong with her I seem to doubt myself, often thinking about if something will happen to Finn but I had to pull myself away from those thoughts otherwise I would wrap him in cotton wool and everything I worked for with him would be a dream. I was never like this before but now I over think every situation. I basically told myself no, I need to chase my dreams they won’t happen unless I try.
In the horse world sometimes, you get knocked back and things happen that you can’t prevent, like ditsy being diagnosed with PSSM it was like my horse was snatched away from me but that is a different story/topic for another day. PSSM is something I feel needs discussing more as not many people are aware of it.
So back to Finn’s first outing under saddle, he behaved impeccably! Didn’t put a foot out of place. A little excitable at first but once we got in that ring he knew what to do. We came first in a strong class of 8. We did our lap of honour after receiving our sash and rosette, I looked down and patted and thanked him and said " we did it " I felt over the moon that all the hard work had paid off. I was totally shocked. It was a last minute decision to go to the show as I had received some criticism on Finn due to his conformation he is a little croupe high, he was born this way and because of this something as small as that which affects him in no way he was saved from slaughter. nothing will make me look at him any differently, it just makes me more determined to prove that the work you put in is what you get back.
So we have new goals, i decided showing isn’t our thing anymore. We are planning to do dressage, this year is about getting out there and Finn seeing things and the aim is to start intro then prelim by the end of the year. The dream will be to affiliate BD.
Now I plan to live by these words... Don’t ever let anyone make you second guess your passion or doubt yourself. I had to have a little talk with myself that I should know better than to let people get to me. Stay positive, keep going and if you feel a little down just spend some time with your horse and they will make you realise the bad days will pass and the good days make it all worth it.