little fish in a big pond

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madeleine1

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hi

in need of some motivation and a little ego boost

im not a novice rider, well nobody whos seen me ride recently thinks i am, but the main yard i use when my horse isnt at home is a very good dressage yard and we are talking 6 or 7 international successful riders who use the yard regularly and more that come for short stays.

ive had my horse a year and we compete prelim and novice at local shows and get ok marks but not amazing. i want to take advantage of the amazing facilities at this yard like the instructers but it makes me feel totally worthless. i sometimes manage to get my ego going enough for me to think i can one day ride as well as them but realistically its not going to happen and i would really like a lower but contented aim. also i am very jelous that when in the past any of these riders get on my horse she can ace a medium dressage without much effort but i get on and its head in the air and back to our prelim.

disclaimer, i dont think there anything wrong with local shows or prelims, as i love doing them its just disheartening when i no she can do better so it feels like its my fault

sorry for the selfish post
 
Hi!

If you enjoy riding your horse - tis all that matters! If that yard is going to make you feel rubbish - then might not be the right place to be? But it does sound FABBO and you should make use of the instructors! And you shouldn't worry about what levels other people are riding at - so long as you are happy and enjoying your riding :-)

Other people ride my horse much better than me (its not hard) - you just have to be proud that they look so good and enjoy watching them.

Hope this helps?!

J
 
Change ponds/yards!

You can get instructors of your choice to come to you anywhere, or you can box to them. You ought to keep your horse somewhere you can enjoy the day to day stuff with friendly people who don't make you feel rubbish.

Get on a regular, all round yard with weekend riders, competitive riders, people who like to do "out of the box" stuff with their horses (yes like playing games, doing stuff like Le Trek, etc), showing riders, etc, etc.... You shouldn't be in competition against your fellow liveries, IMO, you should really just be supportive about whatever each other do and whatever level you all do it at. Owning a horse should be more about fun than competitive goals IMO.
 
Use the instructors, that is what they are there for, they will have seen far worse and if they are professional, will not judge you, but help and encourage you in your aims.
We have been having lessons with a fantastic instructor for the past month, 1 per week, and it is amazing the difference already. She is positive, encouraging and has acknowedged all the improvements in our riding inbetween lessons, and she explains how, what and why we do this and that with our hands, legs, bodies and balance etc etc. Once you have good instruction, it is amazing the improvements horse and rider can make together. :)
 
To me a "good instuctor" will improve your riding, confidence and encourage your goals, so basically, the instuctor at this yard isnt. Get a different one.
 
When I moved to my current yard at the beginning of last year I went from being one of the most ambitious and capable riders on my yard (not difficult), to being a happy hacking novice with no idea of competition world (or at leasts that how I felt)
At first I became jealous, then fed up, and it took a good friend to point out to me that this was a chance to improve my riding and actually achieve something due to all the opportunities that I now have.
Yes the majority of people on the yard are better riders and can get a better tune out of my horse but, when they do they can then explain to me what they did so that I can try and get the same result.
For me it was all about changing my mindset and attitude to my own ability and the ability of others and now I love it :)
 
hi
thanks for all your replies they are very interesting as to how differant the views can be.

jzee: i do really enjoy riding my horse just i know this has been nagging at me and wanted to air it so it didnt get to be more then a nag :) it doesnt make me feel rubbish and it is the right place to be mainly as there is no bitching and i trust them 100% with my horse and i no how difficult this can be to find. i am proud of her and maybe i just need to focus on that a bit more, thanks it has helped.

quadro this is my thinking i think lol, in our area either im a little fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond and theres not much in between

flame this is the problem as i said to quadro there are either big competition yards or yards full of kids without a clue. not saying all kids have no clue because lots do but not on the yards ive been to round here.

laura 1234: i love my instructure and she is making big breakthroughts with my riding and she doesnt set a limit on what we can do, thats just me that does that. and yer it is amazing what we have achieved even at our modist level.

headpiece: i am planning on when we go back soon to try out a differant instructur but i do really like the one im with but maybe a differant view for a bit will help. and they all work for the same team and so wont be offended if i move between them

yard geek: i think this is what i need lol, a good kick up the bum


i do get jelous but my boyfriend cheered me up about an hour ago by pointing out that my horse cost pennies compared to theirs so im actually doing better for less :p btw my horse wasnt cheap just that i no some of theirs are worth small houses

thank you for your comments i do just need to hang on to the possitives
 
Better to be on the yard you are on with 'real' professional riders, than one which is packed with the 'All the Gear but No Idea Crystal Bling on a Big Black Horse You Can't Ride One Side Of' brigade!!
Not much to add to the excellent advice already given of: enjoy it and make the most of it!
 
Flicker said:
Better to be on the yard you are on with 'real' professional riders, than one which is packed with the 'All the Gear but No Idea Crystal Bling on a Big Black Horse You Can't Ride One Side Of' brigade!!
Not much to add to the excellent advice already given of: enjoy it and make the most of it!
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this is definately why im on this yard it just gets a bit intimitdating sometimes.

have got to say though that in general this yard is amazing
 
As long as you are happy with the instruction and are not being told you are 'useless' then stay where you are.

You are not useless, it is one of those things and one day it will just click and go right.

I have an ex NH horse here. He is the sort that goes with his nose in Wiltshire and his back end in Somerset ! The girl that owns him could not get him to go rounded at all. She is now at Uni and I have been riding him quite a bit and made him work for his living. She is now home and 'yippee' all of a sudden it just clicked and she had got the feel and can keep him there.

Now she knows what he can do and what is wanted with him to keep him ono the bit, she is able to do it with other green horses.

I am sure the same will happen with you and your horse, it will click and away you will go!

As long as you enjoy, that is the main thing.
 
just remember that all these top riders you are bumping into on the yard were all at your stage of riding once....and learnt more. They can do it, so can you. And it sounds like you are in the best spot and with the best people to learn how.
If it does get you down sometimes, go do something fun with your horse - go to the beach or on a sponsored ride or hunting or something, just to get away and breathe again!
 
cuppatea said:
just remember that all these top riders you are bumping into on the yard were all at your stage of riding once....and learnt more. They can do it, so can you. And it sounds like you are in the best spot and with the best people to learn how.
If it does get you down sometimes, go do something fun with your horse - go to the beach or on a sponsored ride or hunting or something, just to get away and breathe again!
Click to expand...

i just cant imagine they ever had problems lol not how they ride. yer i do just need to relax lol
 
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