The Horse Fix
The Horse Fix
Beyond Ribbons: The Heart of Horsemanship
The sweetest victories sometimes come when we least expect them and have nothing to do with winning ribbons. After months of heartbreak watching my mare struggle with a mysterious lameness and facing my own impending surgery, I found myself feeling defeated. But an unexpected act of kindness changed my mind set.
For a competitive rider like myself who typically spends weeks meticulously preparing for shows—perfecting patterns, glitzing show clothes, and mentally rehearsing every transition— I was suddenly given an opportunity that challenged everything about my approach. Could I simply show up, swing into the saddle after months without riding, and enjoy the experience without my usual intensity? This mental pivot proved more challenging than expected as my "tiger stripes" of competitiveness initially refused to fade.
But something magical happened when I finally mounted Mercedes after not riding her for two and a half years. The moment my boots settled into the stirrups, competition fell away ,replaced by gratitude. Despite an antsy horse in a hectic arena and even completely botching a pattern in my second class, I experienced perhaps my happiest show ever. This unexpected day delivered a powerful reminder about why we fall in love with horses in the first place—the connection, the partnership, and the simple joy of being together. In our quest for ribbons and perfection, we sometimes forget to enjoy the ride itself, both in horsemanship and in life. When was the last time you reconnected with the pure joy that drew you to your passion? Subscribe to The Horse Fix for more insights about horses, horsemanship, and the lessons they teach us about ourselves.
May all your blues be ribbons
Hello everyone and welcome to the Horse Fix, where you know you can get a horse fix, perhaps fix your horse and maybe even help yourself along the way. I'm Dr Sandra Holt and I am coming to you from my studio here in Longview, texas, longview, texas. Today we're going to talk a little bit about horses as far as what they mean to you and how selfless you can be or how selfish you can be when it comes to horses and going beyond horses in life itself, and I want to share with you an experience that I had this weekend at a horse show. It's going to be a lot of fun, so let's get started. Texas is playing some tricks on us, or Mother Nature is. Anyway, last week, we had a nice cool week Every day. It was the kind of weather you want to be outside, it's just perfect and so we were all looking forward to a horse show coming up on Friday. And guess what? On Friday it got to be really warm, you know in the 90s. So that was a little disappointing, but the horse show was fun. Anyway, we're going to get to that in a minute.
Speaker 1:First, as always, I am grateful and I want to thank all of the people who listen to this podcast and I've gotten lots of questions this week and lots of responses from last week's podcast. So thanks, guys, keep them coming. Even if you have questions that are contrary, I love it. So feel free to jump on board and say wait a minute, what do you mean by such and such? I'm happy to reply. I want to do a shout out to my family. Went through a hard time these last couple weeks with my Uncle, mel passing, I want to say that I'm very proud of all of you, not only proud of you as outstanding people you're classy and you're straightforward and you're loving but proud of you for knowing what family means and knowing how to come together when a time of crisis and knowing how to support each other. And you know I think many of you can relate out there. When things get tough, that's when you know who your friends are and when your family can be your friends. That is such a bonus. Many people say you can pick your friends but not your family. Well, in my case, I would definitely pick my family to be my best friends.
Speaker 1:It's been a rocky few months for me in many ways. I want to start by talking about it because it will lead up to the horse show that I'm going to talk about. Going to talk about, to start with, my wonderful mare, who has just been great and we're really, really starting to click and get together and starting to really excel at the horse shows. She came up lame. She's been lame for months now. I haven't been able to ride at all. She's been stall bound so I've had to take her out of her stall for 20 minutes at a time a couple times a day and just let her graze but not allow her to really use that leg that she is limping on. It's a mystery. The vets still don't know what's going on. They've done x-rays and sonograms and have tried blocking nerves and, you know, doing injections and so far nothing has worked. So it's been heartbreaking for me.
Speaker 1:I had my heart set on going to the World Show in Oklahoma City this fall and now you know that's all canceled. It's been very disappointing. I've really, really missed riding and I really missed showing. You can imagine that's been tough and for you horse people out there, you know what I'm talking about If you've ever not been able to ride or not been able to go to horse shows. So there's that. And then, on top of all of that, I have developed some health problems. I'm going to have to have surgery, which I'm fine with, except that it is going to lay me off for maybe 12 weeks. So I haven't been able to show or ride my horse for all these months, and now, even if she gets sound, I'm not going to be able to ride for at least another three months, if not more. So I'm singing the blues, for sure, and they're not horse show blues, but I'm optimistic and I'm not going to manifest anything that isn't optimistic. And so I know that in the long run, given time for both of us, we're going to come out shining and we are going to have our day. So that is kind of a back story of leading up to what I'm going to talk about my experience for this weekend. But before I go there, I'm going to continue on to the second layer of the backstory.
Speaker 1:My friend, good friend, my best friend, nora Daunt, whom you all know if you've listened to any of my podcasts. She had to take a selfless act with her horse. Now, this is a woman that if she could be with her horse 24-7, she would be. She loves her horses and she really loves this eight-year-old mare that she has had for a while. I think you've heard me talk about Mercedes she has had for a while. I think you've heard me talk about Mercedes. Well, recently business-related she has not had time for Mercedes, so she and I talked a lot about it and she knew that Mercedes is a show horse. Mercedes likes a job to do. Mercedes is her happiest when every day, she gets put to work and feels useful. So Nora and I talked long and hard about it and we came up with a plan that, for the time being, while Nora is unable to spend as much time with Mercedes as she would like, we've decided to lease her out to someone that's worthy, and we found the perfect person. It happens to be Alan Shaw, who is a horse trainer extraordinaire. He is my horse trainer and he is incredible. Well, his stepdaughter kind of needed a horse in the interim situation, so she is now leasing Mercedes to work with and to show. I'm very proud of and I really admire Nora for taking her own feelings out of the situation and saying what is best for my horse and what was best for her horses, but for someone else to carry forward and to keep the horse in the good shape and in show shape and giving her jobs to do and giving her shows to go to. That mare loves to show. At any rate, nora, if you're listening to this, you definitely have my vote for being one of the best horse owners I've ever known.
Speaker 1:I'm sure many of you out there have had those kind of situations, whether it be horse-related or not, where you've got to give up what you desire to make it better for the other entity, the other person or the other animal, and it's a hard decision to make. You're always questioning should I, would that be the right thing? Questioning should I, would that be the right thing? But I can tell you, typically, right after you make that decision to sacrifice and to do what's best for your animal, you know, right after you do it, you know it's the right thing.
Speaker 1:And still, there's another layer to the back story. Bear with me everyone. I have had the privilege of training many great horses, but Mercedes probably is on the top of the list of horses that I have been allowed to and privileged to train and when she came to Nora, she needed some refining. She had all the basics but she needed refining and she needed to be tuned into how Nora rides, and so Nora and I were successful in doing that, and I credit Nora as much as I feel that I take credit for it as well. But anyway, nice, nice horse, I love her.
Speaker 1:Well, the back story about this is since I left the Aubrey area, I have not been able to ride Mercedes, so it's basically been two and a half years since I have actually ridden Mercedes. So just keep that in mind as we get to the story itself. So, to recap, my lovely horse is lame and has been for months, so I've not been able to ride her or actually ride any horse for months. I am about to have surgery, which I was actually supposed to have this week, but it's been postponed. Once I have the surgery, I'm going to be out of commission for at least 12 weeks or more.
Speaker 1:Nora has decided to lease her horse to a lovely lady named Lexi who is doing a great job with her. I have not ridden Mercedes for at least two and a half years, but I am meeting Nora in Sulphur Springs to watch Lexi show Mercedes, and we're all excited about it. Oh, and it's probably worth mentioning that I've been in quite a funk since I haven't been able to ride or associate with all of my horse show buddies and show my horse, and I won't be able to do that coming up after my surgery for quite some time. So this dry spell has pretty much got me bummed. Pretty much got me bummed, alrighty, then. So Nora and I, and our friend Janine, have decided to meet at Sulphur Springs for the horse show and to sit and watch Lexi ride our favorite horse.
Speaker 1:Well, the day of the show I texted Alan, my trainer, and said you know, if anybody is willing to let me ride their horse just to maybe warm it up or even take it in a class just leisurely, I'm your girl, so let me know and I'll bring my show close a chance of that. Because you know, when people compete, they truly want to just zero in on their relationship with their horse and their communication with their horse, and it gets pretty intense. So I really didn't expect that to happen, but I thought I'd just put it out there anyway, just in case I'd have one last hurrah before I go into surgery. Well, lo and behold, after I mentioned that to Alan, his stepdaughter, lexi, gave me a call and she said a little birdie told me that you might want to show at this coming horse show even though you don't have a horse to show. And I said, yeah, I know, but I said I understand that you know that surely is not going to happen. She said I'd be happy for you, and honored for you, to show Mercedes in a couple of classes. Well, lexi was just so generous to tell me that I mean she, this was only her second show with Mercedes and she's really starting to click with her and get in tune with her and you know to. To let someone else jump on the horse and and ride it and show it was, you know that's. That's quite the thing to do in the show biz. We all really take proprietorship over our show partner, and so to share was very generous of Lexi and I so appreciated it. Well, of course I said great, wonderful, thank you so much, I'll bring my show clothes.
Speaker 1:So now I had to kind of retrain my thinking a little bit when it came to horse shows, because I'm very competitive and I spend, you know, weeks, months, days, hours preparing for the show in my mind and on the horse, preparing my show clothes, getting everything just perfect. I really micromanage myself, get myself just as perfect as I can possibly be to go on the show pen with the horse. But here I am in Longview, mercedes is in Louisiana and I'm to meet them in Sulphur Springs and basically get on the horse after two and a half years and me not having ridden a horse at all for months and take her in the show pen and show her kind of just, just, uh, just do it. So I really had to retrain myself in thinking about shows. I had to change my mindset and say this is not about competition. This is about my chance to get on a horse after months and be on a horse that I won't be able to do for quite some time and enjoy. Not be competitive, not make big plans, not spend hours putting crystals on shirts and planning out my whole day minute by minute, but just to show up and have fun. Totally new to me, even though, yes, I enjoy showing, I love showing, it's my passion.
Speaker 1:My competitive part of me doesn't let me really truly have a great time. The competitive part in in me says you're in it to win it, and so I get very intense and I get very focused and zoomed in on my goal. So, instead of visualizing the patterns and visualizing myself riding perfectly. I had to kind of switch gears and visualize myself just being one with Mercedes and forgetting about my surroundings and just enjoying being on a horse for the first time in several months, and for the last time in several months. So that's, that was my mindset going into it.
Speaker 1:So I get to the showgrounds and I'm telling myself, okay, you're casual, you're easy, breezy, no big deal, you're just going to, when it comes time, swing your leg over the horse and go in the pen and just have a nice relaxing time. So I kept telling myself that. But the whole time I'm thinking but I want to do really well. So I'm back to my competitive me. I just went back into show mode completely. You know they say you can't change a tiger's stripes. Well, this tiger was back to being in it to win it. But I hadn't gotten on Mercedes yet and I didn't know how that was going to affect me.
Speaker 1:So it came time for me to get on the horse and very shortly after that I was going to go on the pen and show her, and it was in the trail competition. So we had to go over obstacles and through obstacles and, you know, go into a. It had to be a certain pattern and had to flow and had to be gentle and quiet and all of that. Well, I got on Mercedes and warmed her up a little bit in the practice arena and then it was my turn to show. I completely forgot about being competitive. It felt so good to be on the horse. I felt like I was home again. I was smiling from ear to ear. She was actually a little bit antsy, was smiling from ear to ear. She was actually a little bit antsy. It was her first class of the day and it's a pretty hectic arena there. If you can show in that arena, you can pretty much show in any arena because it's pretty spooky. But she was pretty antsy. But we made it through the pattern and out of 18 horses we took seventh place, but you know, it wasn't the placing at all.
Speaker 1:I had such a good time. I could feel her and she and I just went about our business and I really, really enjoyed myself and I thought to myself you know, this is the way horse show should be. This is the way it was in the beginning when I first started showing Just absolutely grateful to be on a horse and to be in the show pen and not at all thinking about how I was going to come out in the placings. It was a good reminder to me. That put me back in a place where what horses meant to me in the first place, the connection that I have with them and the communication that I have with them and all that they've taught me and all that I've taught them and the relationship, all of that came into play. I didn't even care. I've gained a few pounds and I don't look quite as slim in the saddle as I used to or young as I used to, and I didn't even care. It was me and the horse and it was absolutely wonderful, and I was so grateful to Nora for agreeing to let me ride her horse, even though it interrupted Lexi, and I was so grateful to Lexi to allow me to interrupt her in her show mode.
Speaker 1:So then I went in the next class. It was a couple hours in between classes. Well, by then Mercedes had settled down quite a bit, and so I went in the ranch riding class, and that's a class that you have to remember a pattern, and it's kind of like figure skating, so to speak. There's one maneuver after another and it's predetermined before you go in the pen and you have to follow that pattern and if you don't, you get disqualified. To follow that pattern, and if you don't, you get disqualified. I don't ever have problems with patterns. I learn them quickly and I do them and it's all good.
Speaker 1:Well, so I started out my pattern and I could tell it was her and I. I mean, we were clicking and again I forgot that I was showing. I just was really having fun and, knowing that this is probably my last ride for a while, I just really soaked it up and felt so appreciative and so grateful. So we were clicking along and she was doing everything exactly how I asked her to do it. She was just so good, well, I was having so much fun that in the middle of the pattern I turned the wrong way, not even thinking, and at one point I thought to myself wait a minute, I think I'm supposed to be facing the judge at this moment and I'm not. And it suddenly dawned on me oh, I totally blew the pattern, so I'm disqualified. I didn't care, I just kept on writing as if I hadn't gone off pattern and had a great time. I was the first one to go in that class, so a lot of the people didn't even know I was off pattern. So they're cheering and carrying on like wow and you know, clapping and woo-wooing, and it was so much fun. And the judge was sitting on the side of the arena with her judge scorecard. As I passed by her, I said so much for going first and she giggled and I finished the pattern. I walked out of there as proud as if I had won the class. I think this was the happiest show I've been to, because I just let go and I just enjoyed the ride.
Speaker 1:I wanted to tell this story because I think so many times many of us do forget to enjoy the ride, whether it be a ride through life or on a horse. You know the things that we decide to do, that we do it in the beginning because we enjoy it and we make it a task. We need to step back and remind ourselves why we started to do that in the first place and what we loved about it. So that's my message for today. I hope that you can resonate with this and, guys, if you like this podcast, please subscribe. If you haven't already, tell someone else about it. The more listeners I get, the more I get put on the top of the list and the more people get to hear it and maybe take something away from it. That is good for them. So until next time, may all your blues be ribbons. Bye-bye.