Riding horses can be filled with equal amounts of discouraging and incredible moments. If you take the time to learn from both the positive and the negative, you will take away some incredible things.
1. You learn how to set goals.
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Riding is all about constantly progressing your skills, and the best way to do that is to set goals for yourself. They don't have to be huge, but every little skill you achieve will ultimately lead to bettering yourself overall.
2. You learn how to have thick skin.
We participate in a sport where you literally pay someone to judge you. Having thick skin is a must. In order to do that, you have to have to let some things roll off of your shoulders.
3. You learn how to win — and how to lose.
4. You learn the value of money.
We all know that being involved with horses isn't cheap — at all. This sport teaches us to manage our money and to appreciate all the financial help that we are lucky enough to receive.
5. You learn what a true partnership is.
While horseback riding can be either an individual or a team sport, the most important partnership we build is with our horse.
6. You learn to appreciate the little things.
Sometimes riding can be incredibly frustrating and testing. You have to appreciate the little moments and work towards having more and more of those rewarding moments.
7. You learn how to work hard.
Being involved with horses takes a lot of daily work. Besides from the actual riding, there is so much care that you have to do along with it. From cleaning stalls to turning out, there is always something to be done.
8. You learn that practice is everything.
The more you practice, the better you get, and the harder you practice, the faster you'll get there.
9. You learn to be disciplined.
There is always something else we could be doing, but you have to learn to be disciplined and practice even when you might rather be doing something else. In the end, it will be worth it.
10. You learn how to manage your time.
Between school, working, and riding, you have to learn how to balance your time — although we all know where we would rather spend all of our time.
11. You learn how to deal with exhaustion at an early age.
You learn how to be a morning person and late-night person really quickly once you enter the horse show world. Between four a.m. wake-up calls and 11 p.m. night checks, you quickly figure out that exhaustion is a normal state of being for an equestrian.
12. You learn how to work as a team.
You learn how to work as a team, not just competitively speaking, but in general as well. I mean, have you ever tried to get ready for a horse alone? I didn't think so.
13. You learn responsibility.
Riding isn't a sport where you can just hang up your boots when you're done with practice or a game. You have a living animal you have to take care of as well, and you learn how to be responsible, not just for yourself, but for that other living being.
14. You learn how to be tough.
When you're dealing with thousand-pound living animals every day, you are bound to learn how to be tough. Between the falls, kicks, bites and stepped-on feet, you learn how to suck it up and get over pain really quickly.
15. You learn how to be brave and take risks.
You don't grow if you don't take risks sometimes and face your fears. Whether that fear is a level three dressage test or a 3'6" oxer, just do it!
16. You learn how to be spontaneous.
Let's face it. Things almost always go wrong when dealing with horses. You have to learn to be flexible and go with the flow.
17. You learn how to be patient.
There is a lot of time spent waiting in the horse world, whether it be on vets and farriers or for your class at a horse show. The quicker you learn to be patient, the easier life will be for you and all parties involved.
18. You learn that you always have a friend.
No matter how bad of a ride you had or how bad your day was, you always have a shoulder to cry on that will never judge you.
19. You learn that there is no such thing as perfection.
No matter how hard you try, you'll never attain "perfection." It doesn't exist. There will always be room for you to grow and improve.
20. You learn what your passion is.
When you realize how much you love riding, you learn what your passion is — and you'll never be able to give it up.
Even though being an equestrian is hard work most of the time, the rewarding moments you get out of it makes it all worth it. Never stop learning and always continue to try to better yourself and your horse.
