It's Not The Ribbon

I’m one of the lucky ones who got to grow up as a horse girl. 

I started taking lessons just before I turned 8 and bought my first horse when I was 12. This horse, Zoee, is my pride and joy. When I bought her, she was a 14 year old Arabian mare who foaled several times and had barrel racing training (read about barrel racing here). Zoee and I worked very hard at turning her into a horse that could run barrels and do well in pleasure (slow) classes.

A few years ago we were in a discipline rail class with over 30 other horses (read about discipline rail here). Many of these horses were obviously show horses, not middle-aged-barrel-Arabian-turned-pleasure-horses. I rode in the first group of about 10 horses and Zoee was great. She listened to my commands without delay and was actually slow, in a good way!

To my surprise, our performance stood out enough to make the cut and perform in the final group of horses. That class was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences I have ever had. I didn’t expect to get higher than about 9^th place… out of 10 total horses. Even with low expectations, I knew what my horse and I could do, so I did it.

I remember the usual walking around the edge of the arena, called the rail, when the judge asked for a counter canter (read about counter cantering here). Zoee did the right thing immediately. At that moment, I knew we had a chance at a decent placing. The rest of the class went well and all the horses lined up in the middle of the arena to wait for the placing results.

The judge’s helper, called the ring steward, walked the results to the announcer but the judge asked to speak with the riders before the results were announced. That was such a surprise to all of us; no one knew what he was going to say. Once all the riders had gathered around the judge, he proceeded to say that every single one of us did a great job and should be proud. I most clearly remember him saying that he had a busy judging schedule but knew he wouldn't see a group of such high quality for the rest of the year. I was in shock. I was riding an inexpensive horse that I tried to turn from a barrel horse into a show horse.

As the announcer began reading the placing results, beginning at 10^th and working toward 1^st, my name kept not being announced. I finally heard my name as receiving 4^th place. For days afterward I could hardly believe that I received a 4^th out of over 30 horses.

That same show weekend, I also received a 4^th in saddleseat showmanship (read about horse showmanship here) and placed in pole bending (read about pole bending here).

That discipline rail class and that show as a whole was by far one of the biggest things I have ever won, not because I got 1^st place (because I didn’t), but because my horse and I had come so far from where we had been. As my good friend says, “It’s not the ribbon, it’s the ride.” 

Have you had any similar experiences? I'd love to hear about it!