I have not posted about the horse show I went to last weekend because, honestly, I have been trying to erase it from my mind. I do not want the fact that we completely bombed our jumping classes derail me in the show this weekend. I sometimes have the tendency to carry past experiences into the show ring with me. I obsess over everything that went wrong, when I really should simply let it go and move forward. That is what I am now trying to do. I had a great ride at the farm yesterday, so I am hopeful that this weekend goes better than last. If I ride the same as I did yesterday, everything will be perfectly fine. Chance has improved so much over the past few months, and I know that he will have a good show year this year. It’s a bit funny how excited we riders can get over things that no one else could possibly understand. Yesterday, I was absolutely thrilled with his lead changes. Lead changes have been a bit of a struggle, but yesterday they were beautiful! I barely had to ask for them! Only my fellow equestrians can understand how exciting moments like that are. I am trying to hold on to the positive things that happen in a ride, rather than mistakes.

Carrying past mistakes, past bad rounds, or even the previous jump that we missed at can cripple us in the show ring. I have always been taught to brush off a mistake and just keep going. If I chip in at the first jump in the ring, I try to put it out of my mind and focus on making the rest of the round fabulous. Oftentimes, the rest of the round will be fabulous – along with the rounds after that. Yet, when I get frustrated with myself and discouraged, I ride terribly.

In life, we can obsess over the past: what we did wrong, or what has happened to us. OR, we can decide to leave the past in the past where it belongs and move forward. Making a mistake does not mean that we suck, and will be forever doomed to fail. Mistakes simply mean that we are human. Mistakes can teach us and help us if we let them; or they can cripple us. It is our choice. Riding is the same. We can obsess, or simply let it go and move forward.