4/11/14

Why I'll Probably Never Show (and why I trail ride)

In the last few months, I've kind of changed my mind on the whole showing thing. It's not that I have anything against showing, or because people who show don't have a bond with their horse and etc. These are my simple reasons. :) In the future, I may end up showing, I doubt it, but it may happen. I would love for my future with horses to include something like rescuing, rehabilitating and then re-selling, or maybe even working with children/horses, giving lessons or something of that sort. It's not that I don't feel like my horse and I aren't good enough to show, and it's not even the fact that I don't have the ability to at the moment, it's just that I would rather be able to just ride without worrying about EQ, judges or going over jump perfectly, or not knocking down a barrel. I was talking to a friend of mine who shows, and he was upset over the fact that he has no care-free time with his horse. All he does is practice and show, practice and show. There's not necessarily something wrong with that, but that's not me, that's not what I want to do. There's nothing better-to me at least-than being able to hop on your horse and just ride, without worrying about anything. It's exhilarating to be able to have freedom. I decide what we do that day. As a trail rider, I feel like I have the best of both worlds, without the cost of showing and the drama and stress and anxiety. One day, we may jump some logs in the trails, the other, we may wrangle some goats back in a pasture. The thing I love the most is that I have so much time to just focus on Red, and our relationship.

I feel like trail riding is probably the most underrated discipline that there is. It's no better than jumping or roping and etc, but we do work hard. Our horses have to be trained to be trustworthy, and go through/over whatever it is in front of us. They have to be in good shape so they can handle the work. My version of trail riding isn't a fat horse going in a line, it's much more. But what I love about it is the calmness. No one is telling me to keep my heels down, no one is criticizing my horse. Of course, good EQ is very important because of safety reasons and more, and I do try to keep myself in a good position during the whole ride, but that's not my main concern.
From duderanch.Org

My mom grew up showing and doing rodeos, and maybe she's passed down some of this to me, but she was never a fan of it. I'm a lot like my mom, we have very similar views on horsemanship and horses in general. We both like tacking up and taking a slow ride on the buckle, maybe racing around or jumping a few things or whatever, but we don't like drama and stress. My horse is my way out of a crazy life, my escape from anxiety. I don't want horses to become the reason I stress.

I have no plans to show anymore, and I'm 100% content with that. My blog may not be as interesting as my fellow blogging friends, the ones who jump or even the ones who rodeo, and I will enjoy reading about their shows and root them on, but this is a way of living that I've really grown to love. There's really nothing better than tacking up and taking a ride through a big pasture at sunset, loping around and not having a care in the world, whether it be about ribbons or EQ.
 Source, CBC (Heartland)


It doesn't matter if you ride English or Western, have an OTTB or a fat Quarter Horse, trail riding is more than just a discipline, it's a way of life for a lot of people. :)

20 comments:

  1. Lots of people prefer trail riding to showing. I'm the opposite, don't enjoy straight up trail riding but love showing.

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    1. More power to you, haha! Your blog is a favorite of mine and I love "living through you." The showing life seems super interesting, just not for me, at this moment anyways.

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  2. There is absolutely nothing wrong with not wanting to show. However, I do want to point out that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Your friend who never has time to just relax and do fun stuff with his horse may be just letting himself get too busy. I definitely show but my 'first love' will always be trail riding and as soon as the weather is nice enough I spend quite a bit of time just going trail riding but it doesn't stop me from showing, either. :)

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    1. I definitely agree! I think if I could ever afford it, I would love to take Red to some small shows, I just know that I would probably let myself get to caught up in it, especially with how busy my life already is, haha! Reminds me of that quote, "My heart belongs to the arena, but my soul belongs to the trail." :)

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  3. You know not saying you SHOULD do this, but most organizations have something called "Trail Trials" where you just log your trail miles every month and turn them in and at the end of the year they give out neat and practical prizes, more then just a ribbon or trophy, stuff you can use trailering or on th etrail. It's not really about competing (but I am the competitive type whether I win or lose), but Trail Trials is a great way to foster community within an organization and people go and trail together. At least in California we have something like that. Showing is what people make of it as well as training, and just because I show doesn't diminish my horsemanship or my love of horses.

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    1. I've heard of that but haven't really looked into it, it sounds really neat! I need to check it out more in depth.

      I definitely agree! Just like I said, trail riding isn't for everyone and vice versa. I know a lot of people who only show that have amazing bonds and horsemanship skills that I really look up to!

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  4. There's nothing wrong with trail riding. Everybody has their preferred discipline, and I believe that trail riding or pleasure riding rather than competing doesn't make you less of an equestrian.

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    1. I agree! I think that's the thing that bugs me the most, is people thinking I really DO just sit there because I trail ride!

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  5. I feel like you could do a little bit of everything. I think most show horses would be better if they spent time out on the trail. I get a LOT of training done out there and it shows when I hit the ring. Especially in the jumping ring. If you hit some natural jumps out on the trail? What's a cross-rail or even an oxer. :) You can have the cake AND eat it too as long as you want it.

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    1. Very true!! Red loves jumping some of the logs...who knows, I may have a hunter pony in my hands later on, haha!

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  6. I'm just starting out with this whole horse thing but I'm already realizing there are benefits with doing both doing shows and trail riding. How I see it- shows are good for benchmarking my equitation skills to see how much I've personally improved over time and is a nice affirmation that I’m doing stuff right. Plus you gotta admit, watching a rider with spot-on equitation and a horse moving in a nice frame is a pretty sight to behold. I got a bit of a competitive streak too so endurance and CTRs cater to that while giving me a chance to do trails. Best of both worlds!

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    1. Oh, I would never deny that I LOVE watching people show and etc! I think it can be really good for a rider, especially a beginner. I'm really lucky to have a really well-trained mom that is with me when I ride almost 24/7 so she can video me, tell me what I need to work on and etc. I definitely get super competitive, haha! Part of me would love that aspect of showing.

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  7. Nothing wrong with that! I only like showing at the little show circuit I do and that is because I met a lot of nice people who are now friends there. I would be fine just hanging out without Shy at the shows.

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  8. I don't really think that it matters what kind of riding you do, as long as you enjoy it. The most important thing is having fun and continuing your education in whatever discipline you go with (and horsemanship in general).

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  9. Im with Lauren...I hate trail riding...I don't mind hacking but I am bored after an hour....HOWEVER I admire those who do trail ride! I think it's a great part of horses and I know the horses love it too.

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    1. Red definitely loves it! I love riding in arena's and etc, though. What I wouldn't give for a nice indoor. ;)

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  10. Good thoughts! Besides my ambitions to compete, I have been forced to work on my EQ and riding ability because without it, you WILL throw your horse out of balance and end up with problems down the road. That being said, I really love trail/pleasure riding and am looking forward to doing a lot of it this year :D

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    1. I definitely agree! I've had to stop myself from flopping around everywhere a lot, funnily enough, Red always reminds me to have a quieter seat. ;)

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  11. I really enjoyed the fun shows I used to go to. No pressure (unless you put it on yourself!) and they were family oriented, so you did it all together. I totally believe that horses are happier and calmer on trail rides though. I mean look at barrel horses or eventers. There's not much about them that looks relaxed or happy about where they are. The more serious barrel racers at the shows I always went to had trouble just getting their horses to the gate. But I still would go back and do more showing in a heartbeat!

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  12. i agree with stress and little bonding time with your horse , i rodeo mainly speed events and with all the pratitce put into and hauling its stressful and its made me want to quit serval times but ive stuck to it and always make sure i can bond with my horse by just hanging out with them . with rodeo season in full gear ive gotta get serious and buckle down but i still love trail rides

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