Sally Spickard is another of our awesome Blogger Contest finalists who will be contributing regularly to EN. After she submitted an epic list of the Top 10 Reasons PETA is Barking Up the Wrong Tree for the contest, I encouraged her to keep up the top-10 list tradition. Here’s her first installment as an official EN blogger.
One of the many reasons eventers do it better: tailgating!
Sally Spickard is 27 years old from St. Louis, Mo. She currently spends her free time stalking Eventing Nation for the latest Cooley Cross Border news (have you SEEN that horse yet?) and writing for We Are Cardinal Nation, a St. Louis Cardinals sports blog.
Hello Eventing Nation! Well, after the grueling journey that was the 2013 Blogger Contest, the resident chinchillas graciously asked me to contribute to EN on a regular basis after I threatened to expose the treacherous hazing traditions involving air vest canisters and lighters! I am back with a new Top 10 list this week; I know for a fact that the list could go on and on indefinitely, but I have compiled what I feel to be the most persuasive list of reasons why eventers are, on all accounts, the best there is. Without further ado…
1. Trotting/Cantering/Galloping/Falling Downhill
We all know that an integral part of being an event rider is being able to ride on terrain. I remember being petrified beyond belief at the thought of trotting my little 15-hand Connemara cross downhill at Queeny Park when I was a wee one. OK, I was 15, say something! I think it says a lot that we are able to fearlessly gallop up and down hills, across ditches and through water just to cross that finish line in optimum time. Plus, you’ve never really lived until you’ve successful lawn darted yourself into the side of a steep hill while your trusty steed gleefully runs off to find the greener grass at the bottom.
2. Jack of All Trades Syndrome
It is really an undervalued skill to know how best to complete dressage worthy braids, pick the correct set of studs out and apply them in 10 minutes or less, and somehow keep your focus on tap long enough to be able to memorize a tricky stadium course over the course of two or three days. Eventers are world class multitaskers, and that is evident every time you see us wrestling two different saddles and a matching saddle pad and outfit for each one out of a compact car at each event.
3. Speaking of Jack of All Trades, we also help keep trainers from multiple disciplines in business.
At one point in time, I had 3 coaches — one for my college team, a jumping instructor and a dressage instructor. I am sure I could take a poll and find that many of us have had multiple trainers at one point in our eventing lives. It gets addicting, really, to want to learn and train with the best, and since we have three different phases to require coaching for, the sport really lends itself well to those who have an extreme thirst for knowledge.
4. Our ability to condense all of our medical information onto one 3×4-sized piece of paper.
I mean, I’m talking primary care doctors, secondary care doctors, optometrists, dentists, psychics and hypnotists. All so I can keep it strapped to my arm at all times just in case my pre-competition Xanax wears off. Wait, that’s not what those are for? I always just thought it was a pharmaceutical speed dial form; I added a liquor store that delivers to mine just in case of emergency.
5. We are excellent color coordinators.
Move over, Martha Stewart; we can give your color matching skills a run for their money. I know more than a few eventers who will make several calls to SmartPark’s customer service just to ensure that Midnight Blue is in fact the correct shade of navy-but-not-too-navy that will match the rest of Max’s gear. It’s a sickness, really — the color scheme game. I’ve tried to stay easy with navy blue and white, but you really wouldn’t believe how many shades of “navy” there are. Ok, that call to SmartPak was made by me, but the saddle pad REALLY needed to match the ear bonnet. You understand, right?
6. Eventers have a special camaraderie that does not seem to exist in other disciplines.
If you take a stroll through a stable row at an event, you’ll see a culture that is distinctly noticeable in every part of the eventing world. Everywhere you look, there are people lending a hand, giving a leg up, loaning equipment or just sharing a story about the particularly scary trakehner on course that day. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s probably just because we are all crazy and crazy loves company, but hey, we have fun, and that’s the most important part.
7. We have Boyd Martin.
I really should have put this one at number one because really, what better reason is there to take up the sport?
8. We are 100 percent supportive if you want to tailgate at one of our events.
I mean, what better way to show your support for your barn or rider of choice than to bring a chair or pop the tailgate down, crack open a cold adult beverage, and scream and cheer obnoxiously loud when your rider successfully navigates the water complex? Chinchilla studies have shown that tailgating exponentially increases the effectiveness of your cheers of encouragement, so it’s a scientific fact that tailgating should be supported and encouraged at every event.
9. We give a lot of OTTBs new leases on life.
CANTER is pinned to my homepage as one of my most visited websites, and I’m not even horse shopping at the moment! There are so many people and organizations that have helped Thoroughbreds find new jobs as eventers once their racing careers are over. What would we do without the likes of Courageous Comet out there to cheer on? I swear, if I had the means, you’d find me on the eventing edition of the show Hoarders before too long. I had 50-plus Grand Champions when I was a kid; don’t think I couldn’t do it. (Editor’s note: Who remembers Grand Champions?!? You know you hoarded them too!)
10. And finally, we eventers have created a culture in which anyone, rich or poor, big or small can participate.
The thing I have always loved the most about eventing is the grass roots element. I love that the sport is accessible to all levels and that the community as a whole seems to embrace the upper and lower levels as one and the same. I will likely never wear the red coat at the Olympics, but I have the opportunity to represent my area each year at championships, and that is a great feeling. Eventers know how to do it best, and while this list is mostly joking, the bottom line is that our relationship with our horses and each other is something that is irreplaceable — no matter your sport of choice.
