I woke up this morning feeling bitter. Not the kind of bitterness I feel when two my favorite characters break up on the latest Grey’s Anatomy episode, but the type that occurs when I realize I had another “learning experience” of a show season. The 2010 season is basically over, with Fair Hill taking place a couple weekends ago, and several other one-star and training three-days finishing up just this past weekend. You either had a season where most (or all) of your dreams came true or, if you’re like me, you had a “learning experience” season. I hate that word, learning experience. It basically means that you got better, but you still lost. And I don’t like losing. During this time of year, you will find a lot of tired and crabby eventers. Everyone is worn out from the traveling and competing that has been going non-stop since last January, and it still isn’t even time yet to go home for the holiday break! Most of the horses right now are either on their break or just in light work, so on top of your fatigue and crankiness, you also now have time to reflect on any lackluster competitive results the past year may have held.
The other day I came across a sheet of paper in which, around this time last year, I had written down my goals for the upcoming 2010 season. I had forgotten about some of those goals that back in January I thought were so sure to happen, but through some bad luck and a few mistakes on my part, didn’t. So the year turned out fine, just not the way I thought it would. I think most eventers right now can probably echo some version of that same story. Either through injury to rider or horse, lack of experience, or just too much of a rush to make things happen, we miss out on the goal that was our reason for doing in the first place. But maybe that’s the real value of goals after all, not whether you actually accomplish them but that you keep trying to. Sorry to quote what is quite possibly the cheesiest horse movie of all time in International Velvet, but there is one scene in which the coach of the British team, Captain Johnson says to Sarah Brown, the young star of the team, “In life, the important thing is not the triumph, but the struggle. In other words, not to have conquered, but to have fought well.” Whether we won or lost, we made it through another year.
After just a few more three-days, the holidays will arrive soon, the 2011 season will draw near, and any feelings of disappointment over last season will be exchanged with the excitement, anticipation, and everything else that the start of a new show season brings. We will all assemble at the first event; rested, happy, and smiling once again, ready to take on another year of challenges that this sport of ours has to offer.
What kind of year did you have Eventing Nation?
