“You don’t need a million dollar horse. You don’t need luck. You don’t need an Olympic trainer. You don’t need to win the lottery. You don’t need custom boots or a huge indoor or perfectly painted standards and barrels. You need passion, dedication, motivation, a good attitude, and a dream.” – Unknown (Via Pinterest )

Frankly, I get so tired of people complaining about how expensive of a sport equestrian is. I am really annoyed by memes that say “horse girls are easy to love, but hard to afford,” and other such things. I hate when people tell me that I had better marry well in order to keep up my riding. I hate when people act like it is impossible to ride without a fancy horse, and a massive horse show budget.

It is true that equestrian is not a cheap sport. But what sport is? I have friends that compete in triathlons and the costs are pretty comparable to equestrian expenses. Complaining about the costs will not make them any cheaper. Also, there are so many ways to have a life with horses. For one, there is more to riding than competing. There is training, cultivating a bond with a horse, riding for the mere sake of riding. Maybe the only kind of horse you can afford is an old trail horse. So what? What is so wrong with simply enjoying horses without thoughts of ribbons or getting our pictures in equestrian magazines?

On the other hand, what is wrong with taking an ordinary horse to horse shows? Can horse shows not be about having fun and gaining valuable experience? Contrary to popular belief, winning is not everything. And who knows, that ordinary horse could surprise you. Getting so caught up in perfection really sucks the life out of this sport, in my opinion. I have heard so many people say that they do not like to compete in specific classes because of who they have to compete against. Although it is always a good strategy to compete in classes in which you and your horse will shine, letting the fact that you probably won’t win keep you from showing is pretty silly. Also, riding against great riders can help us to one day become like them.

I have struggled so much in my riding career because I have not had much access to fancy, well-broke horses. I have realized, though, that complaining about costs and how everything is so hard because I’m not rich does not do any good. Maybe one day I will have access to incredible imported warmbloods born to win hunter derbies, but for now I am good with riding crazy thoroughbreds and doing what I can with them. For crazy thoroughbreds are better than no horses at all. And I certainly will not be ready for a fancy import if I do not keep moving forward.