Eventing and working full time? How do you fit it all in?

[glenruby]

Game bird - as others have said the non-compete part in your contract is pretty much I enforceable and know of many in your line of work who have gone on to set up on their own or join neighbouring practices. Usually end up with a lot of I'll-feeling though ( from the partners anyway)

 

[luce1]

I totally agree with you gamebird and spent too much time stressing if my boy is fit enough but this is only becuase he is 18 this year..

 

[TheoryX1]

I do wonder whether I'll get slated for this, given how many reports I hear on here from people appalled at seeing unfit horses at events, but here goes...

I never do and never have done any specific fittening work before or during the event season for PN and often Nov horses. I find that if they're working 5 days a week, competing every couple of weekends (a couple of dressage tests or SJing rounds) and hacking a bit that they're fine. They get the occasional beach gallop and an odd day hunting but quite honestly that's for my benefit rather than theirs. I've yet to turn up at the start of the season with something that wasn't fit enough to go round comfortably inside the time. I may not get them round inside the time, but never because they're not fit enough. I find that people get very hung up on galloping/fittening work at the lower levels and wonder if it's always necessary?

Go on then, slate me!!

Why on earth would we do that! My daughter uses exactly the same philosphy as you to get her horse fit. She also does a fair bit of hill work on the roads, either making her mare walk briskly up hills or trotting up them, plus she does do some interval training in the arena in canter. Seems to do the trick, and she is always fit enought romp around Aldon N, which is majorily hilly, in March without too much trouble. I do think it helps that the horse in question is half TB, and only half WB and is naturally very athletic, but I do think you have to be practical sometimes, particarly when you have other commitments like work or school.

 

[Hornby]

Also bear in mind the weather might kybosh early events even if you are ready!

 

[zxp]

Gamebird, I apply the same philosophy. I am a vet student and struggle for time. But last season our girl was fit enough, and was being ridden 3 - 4 times a week during term time. I think it helps that I work hard on fittness when I'm on holiday (and not on placement ) and that carriers over - plus she is a ball of energy naturally and lives out 24/7 which I think also makes a difference. I cant remember who it was, but a pro once told me that they didnt think horses lost fitness if not ridden for a week.

Sometimes, I look at these primed and conditioned horses andthink mine are lacking. But I think they are happy as swamp creatures just being tarted up for shows.

 

[star]

zxp - I thought it was hard enough doing dressage whilst at vet school - I dont think I'd have managed to event!

Gamebird - those clauses are completely unenforcable but I agree with you about the ill-feeling. Guy who left our place last summer is opening up new branch of Companion Care across the road from us next month and we have that clause in our contracts.

Re fitness work - I'm not actually concerned about that bit - he's fit as a flea from hunting. He'll hunt once more between now and the beginning of March and I try and give him a gallop out hacking once a week. We have plenty of hills so he will work up and down them as well. Tried to do some interval stuff with last summer in prep for our long format RC champs but he hated it - cantering round and round the same field at a set speed is not his idea of fun and it hurt my back to have to use enough leg to keep him going! Out hacking I cant stop him so will stick to that.

Good to hear it's not just me lacking mojo at the moment anyway! Thanks guys My problem is that I'm no good at being just good enough - I want to be the best that we can possibly be within the scope of both of our abilities. That doesn't mean always winning, but it does mean feeling like I've done us both justice. I've already come to the conclusion I dont want to go any further in my career. I'm happy with what I do, I earn enough to manage although I couldn't work any less hours and still keep eventing. Progressing more would mean sacrificing the horses and to be honest they are the reason I work so would make no sense. Would love to go part time and run a yard or something but I think pigs would fly before that happened.

 

[racingdemon]

I work not quite full time in the office, but then do alot more at home in the evening, so hours wise rack up alot, & i've also got a husband & 2 little children who have to be kept happy!

i tend to find that keeping my horse fit isn't really an issue, by the time we've hunted a bit over the winter, he's fitter than he needs to be to event, so I can focus on the flat work & jumping at home without needing to work him too hard, generally he's ridden 5-6 times a week for about 35 mins, i try & have a lesson once a fortnight/3 weeks & get out SJ once/twice a month.... I ride before work & dropping children, but am lucky in that i don't usually need to be in the office until 9.30.

my main aim for 2012 is to consolidate at PN (& a tentative aim to go Novice) and get myself fitter, as that really is the biggest challenge,

 

[LEC]

I always tend to write January off in my head and as I mentioned to a fellow HHOer today live the life of a chronic procrastinator instead!
I have no facilities and a demanding job so the horse has to fit in to my schedule. I write January off and do just weekends with lessons and competitions and then motivate myself for February which will include lessons in the evening where I can and riding before work. I think it is hard to be ambitious and also work full time which is why so many of the top sports people I know who cannot make a living from their sport only work part time if they can.

 

[TarrSteps]

I think it's very hard (not that it can't be done, just that it's always difficult) to be really competitive at almost any level without a serious support system, be it time to do the work yourself or enough money to pay someone to do the bits you can't/don't want to do. Ironically, working in the industry, I eventually didn't replace my competition horse when he retired because I couldn't prioritise a horse of my own and still have a viable business, let alone one that allowed me to run a horse at the level I wanted. I think it's a bit of a dirty little secret that even most successful professionals, at least when they are starting, have a great deal of support from family or similar. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had about professionals who are seen to be completely self-supporting . . .except that they don't pay rent because they are on a family property or they don't have to draw a living wage from the horses or similar.

Which is neither here nor there for this conversation, it only goes to the idea that somehow there are other people out there finding a perfect balance. In my experience almost everyone is having to make constant adjustments and prioritise different things so it's not a sign of failure if you're struggling to fit it all in. There really aren't enough hours in the day to earn enough to keep competition horses AND successfully compete, without something giving somewhere, unless you are very lucky. Which isn't to say it isn't worth doing, just that you shouldn't feel too down on yourself if you're not making the same choices as other people.

I do think though, at some point, everything does have to go towards the ultimate goal and if you have too many goals, it's simply not going to work, especially with the majority of horses. Nothing to do with this thread, but as a general point, if you have a horse that's, say, unridable for a week after hunting, how much time and energy do you put into that if your real goal is to, say, go up the levels in dressage? It might be very possible to teach the horse to combine the two but what is that worth, time wise, if you have a thousand other things to do, too? Of course, if both are equally important you might have to accept that the dressage progress will be slower or perhaps even compromised. It's just a choice.

Btw, on the other side of the coin (while we're having a moan ), I've done horses, well, most of my life and, amazingly, have been able to support myself at it. Now I am seriously considering NOT doing it at all anymore because I can't get the balance right. So the grass is always greener . . . . . Maybe lex and I need to work out an amalgamation.

 

[HotToTrot]

Um, by a lot of blagging and making do!

I blag at work, as I'm generally tired from having got up at horse o'clock to ride beforehand and not really on the ball/am distracted by planning my next event. But I just say everything with an air of great authority and then people believe me.

I blag the eventing by holding on and kicking (and then I post on here, whinging that I can't show jump - go figure).

I blag the husband by booking strategic weekends away for us, that don't get in the way of events - and arranging ski trips that are well before the event season, so I look committed without having to sacrifice the horse.

I blag the friends by... oh, no, got a couple on here, best not divulge....

And I blag the triathlons by biking to the yard and cycling is definitely 1/3 of a triathlon, so who needs to practice the other two phases?

It's all about fake it 'til you make it - keep up the pretence!

 

[Saratoga]

Um, by a lot of blagging and making do!

I blag at work, as I'm generally tired from having got up at horse o'clock to ride beforehand and not really on the ball/am distracted by planning my next event. But I just say everything with an air of great authority and then people believe me.

I blag the eventing by holding on and kicking (and then I post on here, whinging that I can't show jump - go figure).

I blag the husband by booking strategic weekends away for us, that don't get in the way of events - and arranging ski trips that are well before the event season, so I look committed without having to sacrifice the horse.

I blag the friends by... oh, no, got a couple on here, best not divulge....

And I blag the triathlons by biking to the yard and cycling is definitely 1/3 of a triathlon, so who needs to practice the other two phases?

It's all about fake it 'til you make it - keep up the pretence!

Love this...because it's so true for me too!!!

 

[fabscd]

I would agree with you in a lot of instances, but I think it's more to do with the individual horse, and less to do with the level to a certain extent. My first event mare (mainly TB with a dash of ID) got herself fit in the field. I never galloped her a day in her life, far too hot headed for that! She was as fit as a flea, stormed round her first Intermediate with very few time faults, and coped so easily with a 3 day without any additional fittening work at all.

I've also had a heavier ID mare that needed a lot of fittening work just to cope well with PN, esp a longer hillier one like Purston for example.

I agree with this. My mare is mainly ID and does require a fair amount of fittening work to get round Intro/PN level. My old horse however did an 8 mile sponsored ride twice in a row without stopping, in trot and canter without breaking a sweat and was still pulling my arms out at the end without anything more than normal hacking and schooling 5-6 times a week.

Relating to OP's post, i also work full time and have 3 horses at 3 different yards, all on DIY, although only one of these is ridden/competed. I am either up at 6.30 to ride briefly before work, or at this time of year getting on board to ride under floodlights at 7.30ish in the evening. In winter i can't hack in the week, unless i do a very quick run round the estate (we have 800 acres to ride round) in the morning between dawn and needing to leave the yard. I do find it a struggle to stay motivated, but it really helps to have things like training and competitions booked in or at least pencilled in the diary to give me things to aim for. A lot of my annual leave gets used on training/competitions and horse related appointments, and fortunately i never have to work weekends. I still live at home and don't have an OH at the moment, so that does make life easier in that i can be 'selfish' with my time, but it does mean my social life is...limited. Fortunately my close friends are pretty much all horsey and so are involved in their own, or at least 'get' the amount of commitment etc it takes. We also help each other out at comps and stuff, even though we all do different disciplines, it does help to have eyes on the ground or a groom on competition days, and i reciprocate for them. Roll on the summer, when, although it is still hard work, you don't mind so much because the weather is generally better!