KOTJ~

I understand where your post is comming from, I truely do. I think part of the missunderstading lies with how I word things. When I say something like "I'd be laughed out of the ring!" or "People would laugh at me!" I usually don't mean that people will literally laugh at me (or whoever I'm talking about), but that it would be unusual or that I'd be embarressed. I guess something else that adds to the missunderstanding is my shyness and conservatism, which makes it pretty easy to embarass me, hence why I use those phrases a lot.

This has very obviously strayed from this topic, and I haven't personally had any particular run-in's with HP to have any type of vendetta, it's just that type of person gets me seething. I got a job at 15 to pay board and things on my horse. I pay board, those extra bills, I spend my money on my horse's needs and sometimes get little extras. For christmas I got auken paddock boots and mondega halfchaps. They're both my schooling footwear as well as my show footwear. I've had both my schooling helmet (tipperary) and schooling breeches for 7 years. Last christmas I saved up my money and bought an IRH helmet. It's my show helmet and does not come out unless for shows. I bought my show jacket 2 years ago at Value Village, it's black. On my birthday I bought a new pair of Kerrits breeches. They are my show breeches and, again, do not come out until shows. I ride a grade horse with no real background, he's got an big head, not a 10+ mover but he can go, he has a roached/mohawk mane and he enjoys jumping very much. My saddle is a used griffth cc that's seen better days, and I've used my "show" shaped saddle pad for 2 years. When we put some real training into it, we have yet to step out of the ring without being in the top 6 of any show we do (3 different venues, though all schooling level atm). Maybe I'm just the kid that always roots for the underdogs and tries to help them come out ontop, because they appreciate everything they have moreso than people who have things handed to them.
And perhaps I must live in a great area, because the only time we have "snobs" on any of our circuits, it's just people brought up the same way as HP with that type of opinion. People are nice, they'll compliment you and even if you have a nasty round they'll still be there to say something nice. I've been beaten out of classes I know for sure we could've won, but in the end I (like 98% of the riders) will still shake the hand of the winner and congratulate them.
I guess it's just the way people are brought up.

Well, where does that leave me? And why do I make you "seeth", especially when you have no vendetta? What have I done that has been so hurtful? Just questions.

Now, yes, my parents do buy me things, and I don't have a job, but why does everyone seem to think this makes me less of a person, or in this instance, less of a rider and horsewoman? That, to me, is one of the most hurtful things you could imply, and I've had to deal with it a lot in my life. For example, my horse clocks around like a saint and people LOVE to say that I'm less of a rider because I have a nice horse. But do they ever stop and think about how he got to be that way or how he continues to be that way? No, to them I'm just a bitch who poses around a course on a made horse, never considering that I made him and that I maintain him (which is one of the hardest things to do because it's a lot easier to mess up a made horse than to make one), not my trainer. Those girls who I'm lucky enough to call my friends know I can ride, because they actually got to know me.

My stuff may have be 'handed to me', but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful for it. Most of my really expensive stuff, like my saddle, half chaps, and boots, was bought with the mindset that it would either be the last that I'd own, or that it would last for a decade or two. And everything else was bought to fill a purpose, for example when I moved up to a more prestigious division I had to buy a darker coat because mine was brown. Just because I don't scream to the heavens how grateful I am for what I have, doesn't mean that I'm not grateful.

And, surprise, surprise, people are really nice on my circuit as well. I know 95% of the girls I show against, and I'm friends or friendly with almost all of them. We congradulate each other if we have a nice trip, and console each other if we have a bad day. The only time there is drama is when someone comes in from the outside, without any knowledge of us, and starts saying how we are all awful riders because we have nice made horses. More than once, myself, or another girl has ended up crying in the show bathroom. That's not okay. We are teenagers, we already have self-esteem issues, we don't need anyone coming in and making us feel shitty inside for no reason. It makes us question ourselves even if we've done nothing wrong, and its taken years to finally decide that I'm NOT a bad rider OR a poor horsewoman. I don't know about YOU but I was brought up not to judge people, especially when you don't know all the specifics.


"If riding were only blue ribbons and bright lights, I would have quit a long time ago"~ George Morris

"Virginia has the nicest horses"~ George Morris

"Riding is first a sport, then an Art. That's why I make a lot of money"~George Morris

"Do as little as possible, but as much as necessary"~George Morris

"Distances are like men... never take the first one you see, there will always be another one"~George Morris

"Function equals form, and form equals function"~you guessed it :)