11/12/2025
"I’ve always said that riding is like tennis (or, these days, pickleball). It’s a lifetime sport. You can enjoy riding at almost any age, and there are many levels of participation. Things don’t get tricky until you want to compete. And then they get really tricky when you want to compete—and succeed—at a high level. Here are some thoughts on success in horse sports.
If you’ve been in this sport for any length of time, you already know this. If you’re just starting out… well, welcome aboard the struggle bus.
However, there is a path to success. You may think that path involves talent, and while talent surely doesn’t hurt, it’s not always the main ingredient for success in horse sport. If you’re not the most talented rider out there, there are other things you can do that will help vault you to the top.
At least 50% of the people (okay, 99%) reading this right now are thinking the same thing—money. And they’re not wrong. I’m a realist, and have been playing in this sandbox long enough to understand that money plays a significant role in horse sport. Frankly, access to some fairly deep pockets is essential. A competitive horse is expensive. Top coaching and training are expensive. Upper-level horse shows are expensive.
But there are some things that money can’t buy. And those things can get you closer to the top, regardless of how rich or talented you might be. Here’s my top 3.
Time
Success in this sport requires a great deal of time. This includes time in the tack as well as time at the barn. That sounds easy enough, right? I wish.
I’ve spoken to so many parents over the years who wonder why Suzie isn’t doing better…doing more…winning more. Unfortunately, Suzie takes one or two lessons a week, misses a lot for school activities, social activities, “tired”, or a million other reasons, and cannot find time to come to the barn to ride her horse much outside of her scheduled lesson rides. She is very busy and just doesn’t have the time.
To really succeed in this sport, you have to know your horse. You must know his canter in all its facets. And for that to happen, you need to make a serious time commitment to the barn and to your horse. You need to take lessons at least twice weekly (preferably with one of them a flat lesson), and ride on your own several other times.
If you are not putting the time in with your horse at home, it’s hard to be the winner at shows.
Anyone can enjoy this sport at a lower level without spending a lot of time at it, but to succeed at a higher level, time riding and at the barn is essential.
Effort
Here’s another one that sounds easy. But, like time, effort is sometimes rare.
I’ve known kids who come to the barn a lot. They show up with friends, spend an hour or so chatting and having fun, finally get their horse ready, and ride for 15 or 20 minutes between standing center ring and gabbing. I like fun, I like chatting, and I like gabbing. It’s important, and it definitely belongs in a barn. I’d just like to see that same effort expended on actually riding.
We spend a lot of time on tracking exercises in lessons, and I know other trainers do as well. The foundation for a winning hunter ride is track and pace. And yet many students don’t practice difficult tracks when they hack on their own. It’s all w/t/c on the rail, and an occasional circle. Your horse doesn’t need to work hard every ride, but he does need to concentrate occasionally. It’s a skill that requires effort.
What does effort look like? It looks like practicing difficult tracks, it looks like varying your canter pace, it looks like riding on your own without stirrups, it looks like cantering in a half seat for a hot minute, it looks like varying your posting rhythm, and challenging yourself with some hard ones. It looks like framing, and bending, and flexing, and stretching. And once your ride is over, it looks like taking good care of your horse with a proper cool-down, maybe ice boots or some liniment, maybe a nice bath, maybe a hand-graze. It’s certainly not just throwing him back in his stall after a cursory brushing.
Anyone can enjoy this sport at a lower level without making a huge effort, but to succeed at a higher level, effort is essential.
Commitment
This one is a little more elusive than the first two. Basically, it’s sticking to something when it gets hard. “I asked him to do that, and he didn’t.”
“He won’t listen.”
“I did everything right, and we still didn’t win.”
My answer? Try it again. And possibly again. And possibly 100 times after that, without getting angry or frustrated or taking it out on your horse. Read the first sentence of this article again. Success in this sport is hard. There will be frustrating moments. There will be many fails. You can do everything right and still not win. And yet, do it again. Try harder. Keep your cool. Assess. Evaluate. Tweak. Listen. Change. Learn. Grow.
Anyone can enjoy this sport at a lower level without making an enormous commitment, but to succeed at a higher level, commitment is essential.
If you can put in the time, give the effort, and make the commitment, you might be surprised how far you can get."
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