Windermere Show

The best thing about horse showing is that it’s like a report card on your progress.

In early May, Captain and I participated in our first show of the season at Windermere Equestrian Center. Two certainties awaited us:

1. Nerves

2. Cold, rainy drizzle

Grateful for the pony kids

I was tempted to stay in the car with the heat on and hope no one found me. But then I saw how the pony kids embraced the experience while seemingly ignoring the downside.

They built jumps and hopped over them to keep warm, they splashed through puddles in their brand-new riding boots, and they posed for endless selfies with their ponies and sent them to each other.

Winning isn't easy!

I thought about the tough training I’d done all winter. How Captain and I had built a stronger connection. My curiosity about how we would perform won over my anxiety. Moments later I was shivering into my show clothes.

Recently, I read an Instagram post that perfectly describes our experience that weekend. “We went, we jumped, we fell, we won.”

Being there, participating, even winning isn’t easy. But sometimes you must act like the pony kids and jump over something for the heck of it.

The spoils