Episode 227: The two biggest lessons showing has taught me.

Episode 227_ The two biggest lessons showing has taught me..mp3: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

Episode 227_ The two biggest lessons showing has taught me..mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker1:
It is hard to describe how amazing it feels to ride a horse. Who, when you ask the horse for more willingly gives you not only more physically, but also gives you even more attention mentally.

Speaker2:
Podcasting from a little cabin on a hill. This is the Stacy Westfall podcast. Stacy's goal is simple to teach you to understand why horses do what they do, as well as the action steps for creating clear, confident communication with your horses.

Speaker1:
Hi, I'm Stacy Westfall and I'm here to teach you how to understand, enjoy, and successfully train your own horses. In this season of the podcast, I've been discussing lessons that can be learned through showing horses. As I wrap up this season on showing, I've been reflecting on how much I have learned from showing, and in this episode I'm going to share the two biggest things showing has taught me. But before I get to those, I'm going to say it again. The lessons you can learn through showing are possibly available in other places, but for me, they have been made clear through showing back in episode 220, I said It's clear to me that showing has hugely impacted my development as a writer, and I've spent time over the last couple of months thinking about what exactly makes me so confident that showing in particular helped me become the writer I am. And I came up with my answer. Shows are great training for the rider. Drop the horse completely out of the equation for a minute. Shows are a great training place for the rider. In the last podcast I talked about the trainer, the showman and the judge. And what I hope you took away from that episode is that all three of those people are alive and well inside of you. Every day that you are with your horse showing helped me see. Each of these roles more clearly, which is hugely helpful in general life with horses. What it means to me is that if I find myself being judgy or critical of, let's say, my progress or how my horse is riding, how I'm riding my horse, I can recognize in that moment that the true judge has a standard.

Speaker1:
They're aiming for. A judge that judges me at a show is judging against a standard, knowing that there's a version of judging that is healthy and helpful helps me to see the opposite, which is maybe what I'm doing on those days when I feel. Quote unquote judgy or critical. Usually in those moments I'm being vague and critical. That's not what actually happens with a true judge at a show. The showman. When I show up like that rides without concern about tomorrow. Because the showman is concerned with today's performance, that's the top priority. That's a really good thing to know. I meet a lot of people who trail ride like that. When I trail ride like that, I am much more aware now that what I'm doing is taking money out of my horse training bank account. Don't get me wrong, making withdrawals from your horse trading bank account for showing or trail riding is not a bad thing. In fact, I think it's the whole purpose of putting the money in the bank at first. The purpose is to get to the safety level. Then it is so that you can make those withdrawals and have fun. But it's also wise to see how much you have in the account, because if you're the showman who's going to spend it all today.

Speaker1:
You might not be planning ahead for the future. In the moments that I show up as the trainer, that one would seem like it has less negative consequences on the day to day. But I'll tell you, shows benefit the trainer because as the trainer you are teaching the horse, which is your student and it is fun to watch your students grow and excel. When I watch my horse go out there and excel at a show, I know my job is well done as the trainer. Showing in different disciplines with my horses has given me a lot of different ways to view horses. And for me, I love looking for the common threads or the foundation pieces that are shared between disciplines. Sometimes I run into people who want to compare disciplines by comparing the tippy top of each of those disciplines and proclaiming how different they are. But for me, I find it much more useful to look at the foundation and be amazed at how much is shared between the disciplines. I like to picture it like a tree trunk, and what that means is that the trunk of the tree is that foundation that is very similar across whether I'm doing dressage or reining or trail riding. And then the specialties, as you go further and further into a specific discipline, eventually the specialties are like the branches of the tree and things do go different directions a little bit. But what's fascinating about that is that the differences that make each discipline special also share that same foundation.

Speaker1:
And that fascinates me because then I can go look at how that foundation then built and went into that branch over to the right. And then you could come back to that same foundation and branch off and go to the left. Because when I look at it like this. It shows me a more clear view of horses in general. So the fact that people show horses in different disciplines and teach them to do different things. Fascinates me because it gives me a different way to see the horses. And I love that showing has taught me more about horses. But let's circle back to why shows are such good training for the rider. If you wanted to do some gambling with me. I don't gamble. But this just fits. If you wanted to do some gambling with me, I would say that I would even put money down on the idea that it's easier to train a horse to stay consistent walking into its first show. That's where I would put my money versus training an adult human to stay the same walking into their first show. Are you with me? I personally can't think of another environment in the horse world that has challenged me or grown me as much as showing did. And when I think about a lot of other things that I've done, whether that's teaching in front of thousands of people or walking into the studio for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, I was able to do a lot of these things because of the skills that I learned through showing.

Speaker1:
Now, you'll notice if you were gambling with me a minute ago, we were gambling adults walking in to their first show. Showing for me was easy. When I was a kid, when I was an adult, it became something I avoided. As I say this, it becomes kind of clear that showing itself wasn't the issue because it was the same circumstance in both places. But as an adult showing exposed that I was avoiding showing because I didn't want to feel pressure. What was interesting is that showing eventually taught me that I was the one creating the pressure myself. I'm talking to the point where I would make myself physically sick from adding pressure to myself. I'll give you an example. In 2003, I did my first bridleless ride in a reining competition, and it was the Quarter Horse Congress. I hadn't eaten all day long. I barely drank anything. My mom kept telling me I was going to pass out if I wasn't careful. I kept assuring her I was going to vomit anything that I put into my stomach. So it was kind of pointless. But I think I have to hit pause here for just a moment, because the more obvious question at this point in the story is why the heck are you showing if you were so stressed? So as an adult, I started showing because I really, really, really wanted to make a living as a horse trainer.

Speaker1:
And in our area, it was hard to keep horses in training over the winter months unless they were show horses. So I was training horses as a professional, and I was showing kind of sort of because I had to to be able to keep the horses in training. That means I wanted. To be a trainer. Even more than that sick feeling was holding me back. That's how the dance goes. Now, I showed in 2003 bridleless because I wanted to show how exceptional the mare that I was riding was. Cancan Lina was a mare that my husband had bought and trained and showed, and then I was showing because I was eligible for some different classes. And she wasn't the most physically talented horse, which was so devastating to Jesse and I because she kept getting beat, even though she was so good minded and Bridleless riding was her time to shine. So my desire to show what the mare could do made it worth signing up to show and feel that much pressure. And I thought. That was a good plan. Haley was great. That was her barn name. Haley. Haley was great. But I did not handle the pressure. Turns out if you're so sick, you can't eat or drink all day, you might be a little bit too stressed. And to keep the story short, I walked out of the arena with a score of zero.

Speaker1:
And the good news was people saw how great Haley was, but it was a devastating moment for me. But it did turn out to be the wake up call that I needed to get my thoughts under control because I was the one crushing myself under the pressure with my own thinking. Thankfully, Haley's story had a storybook ending, which was I took her down to the reigning futurity and did the freestyle down there in December. So between October and December, I got myself straightened out. Nothing changed with Haley because she had been fine all along and we were able to be successful down there. And then people truly saw how special she was. The lesson that I learned. In that one experience with Haley. Of going from scoring a zero at the Congress to completing the exact ride I wanted to do at the reigning futurity. It's hard to convey how much impact that had on me as a human, and I will forever be grateful. But my favorite thing this showing has ever taught me is this. Showing has taught me how to split my focus between writing strong and powerful while also supporting my horse, which is a magical skill to possess. It is hard to describe how amazing it feels to ride a horse. Who, when you ask the horse for more willingly gives you not only more physically, but also gives you even more attention mentally. It's what happened to me when I got my mind straight. And I showed Hailey at the reigning Futurity in December.

Speaker1:
It's what happened when you saw the bareback bridleless ride. But I want to tell you, I actually get to experience this regularly with my horses. I can feel it in the slower events, the lower level dressage tests, but it becomes so much more dramatic when things get challenging. It's why I love showing in reining for this reason, I love running faster and faster and feeling my horse fully engaged physically and fully tuned into me. I would not be able to do that if I hadn't learned how to split my focus and be able to see the line of travel I was supposed to be on. Know exactly how much I can accelerate and still pull this off, how powerfully strong I could ride, and that the horse can step up and step in. Feels amazing. I have a quote in my office that says, In riding a horse, we borrow freedom. And in those moments when I can step things up and my horse dials in even more, that quote feels so true. And that's the gift that's showing gave me. I want to close by sharing some of the reasons listed by people When I asked Why do you like going to horse shows? Laurie said. My favorite thing about going to shows is sitting in the barn late at night after all the horses have been put to bed. It's quiet. Maybe a few people are still there, banding or braiding, and the only sounds you hear are crunching hay whinnies here and there and the occasional thump of a hoof hitting the wall.

Speaker1:
It's like getting rocked to sleep. Rosie said, I love camping at this show with the pony meeting up with friends and trying to do better than we did at the last show. It's not about winning or losing, but improving what you do and seeing how far your partnership with your pony can take you. Tina said. To be able to drive away whether you've won or not, knowing that you've trained your horse on your own and he or she did what you asked all day. That's it for me. Barb said It might sound corny, but being a horse person is a lifestyle, and the shows turn into a celebration of that for the many reasons listed above. From the smell of diesel and the fresh plowed arena to the laughter and groans at the stalls after the class. It's something that cannot be caught anywhere else. Leslie said the variety horse people are like fingerprints. We all have our own unique styles and ways of doing things, which allows us a huge knowledge pool for when one method doesn't work. The common tie is that we all love horses and are willing to do what's necessary to make sure our horses are cared for well. Mary said, I'm a horse show mom who also rides and loves the lifestyle. For me, it's about the wonderful time spent with my daughters and their horses watching them improve and have fun.

Speaker1:
The atmosphere can't be beat. Sam said all of the above. To keep my horse thinking. Hanging out with friends and no housecleaning. Becky said It's social and a break from all the hard work at the farm. We camp at most of the shows, so it's a little vacation. Lisa said all of the above as a non pro. I love being able to escape to a show and spend time with my awesome horses and incredible friends. It's my social outlet. Terry said. I absolutely just love looking at horses of any kinds, but the main reason I compete is that my goal is to be the best horseman I can be. And the shows are a way for me to measure my progress. Part of the challenge is my mindset to remember the patterns. Et cetera, as well as the actual riding. And of course, all the wonderful horsey friends I have made are just as important as the competition part. We cheer for and help each other. Almost like a sorority of sorts. Sometimes when I get to the show with all the hustle and bustle, it makes me feel so happy. I almost cry. Well, that's it for this season of the podcast. But I'll bet if you listen carefully, you'll probably hear in every episode I record lessons I've learned through showing. Plus, it's not an either or. I trail ride all of my show horses. Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you again in the next episode.

Speaker2:
If you enjoy listening to Stacy's podcast, please visit Stacy westfall.com for articles, videos and tips to help you and your horse succeed.

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