This was my essay for college applications last year but it essentially tells the story of my relationship with my horse and still very relevant to my life. After this essay was written I had to sell Tally because my family could not afford to keep her while I was at college. Tally was essentially my best friend throughout college and the amount of time, energy and dedication I put into riding was apparent in her training and our relationship.
They told me that I didn’t meetstandards but what they really meant was failure. On a cool summer morning inAugust when most other teens were still asleep, I was more nervous and stressedthan I had ever been. That morning happened to be the day of my C3 rating. Duringthe first part of the rating, the examiners simply sat in the corner, neversaying anything. The final part of the test was to ride a dressage test. Afterriding what I thought was the best test I had ever ridden, the examiners cameand told me that I did not pass.
When I first found out about the PonyClub rating system at the age of nine, I vowed to at least obtain the C3rating. I had no idea how hard these ratings actually were; I simply knew howhigh the jumps were. My mind couldn’t comprehend that it was about quality notquantity.
At the age of 65, my dad found thathe had just bought an ex-racehorse for his 13 year old daughter. Upon buying ahorse, I was told that I was now married. My parents weren’t joking. I wasexpected to put as much energy into Tally as any newlywed would put into theirrelationship. Sleepovers were missed because of early morning lessons, the barnbecame a homework center and horse shows eliminated late weekend sleep-ins.
Eventually, Tally changed from thecrazy thoroughbred that would run over me, into the horse she is now, the onewho comes when I call, gets in the trailer instead of rearing up for hours, andnever hits a rail. Most of all, she has gone from a horse I despised to one Inever want to part with.
As both Tally and I matured, Istarted to refocus upon my childhood dream, obtaining that national rating.After a year of strenuous preparation, working almost daily with my coach, Ifelt that I truly was riding at the C3 level. However, after being told I didnot meet standards, I begin to question if riding was really worth it.
Failure is an excuse to ride moreand compete better at the next horse show. I didn’t dedicate my life to simply achievinga childhood dream; I offered myself up to a 1,000 plus pound thoroughbred beastin hope of learning something. Tally hastaught me to expect the unexpected buck, to strive for perfection even thoughperfection seemed to change every day, to feel minuscule changes and react intiny ways, and to ride assertively and passively at the same time. Most of all Tallytaught me to sometimes just trust her even when she galloped out of control towarda solid three foot fence. She always got me over, just not the way Ienvisioned. I’ve learned life is likethat, it doesn’t always happen the way you want, but you have to keep going,keep moving forward and keep striving for perfection.
No comments:
Post a Comment