A Confident Competitor

I recently came across a very cute and interesting poem about the horse showing industry that I wanted to share with ya’ll. I found it from a website called Angelfire: Horse Poems. The author, Lynda Stowe, wrote this piece for her teenage daughter where it was featured in the Horse Illustrated magazine. I would like for you to read it carefully because these simple words ring full of truth.

The Will To Win

In the World of Competition
The Road is long and grim;
There is no use starting up it,
“Without the Will to Win.”

Some can get beat and bear it,
Tell about it with a grin;
But they will never be front runners,
“Without the Will to Win.”

Some quite never get there,
They sit and wonder why;
They seem to lack the essential,
Little thing called “Try.”

The difference in winners and losers,
in the arena or the Gym;
Is that some possess the little Extra,
“That is called the Will to Win.”

Some gals get good horses,
Their folks enter them and grin;
But their little Darling will get beat,
“Without the Will to Win.”

If you bounce back after losing,
And produce that will to win;
You know you have that little extra,
That is awfully hard to beat.

So if the road is rough and rocky,
And the future looks awfully dim,
Just set your sights and hustle,
And produce that “Will to Win.”

As soon as I read this short but powerful poem, I recognized how absolutely true it was! For all you horse lovers and owners out there, you know exactly what I mean when I say that horse showing is not cheap; horses, tack, transportation, entry fees, clothing, and many other things quickly add up to a costly amount of money. However, I truly believe that the importance that is placed on money is overemphasized.

The poem completely summed this up when it described how expensive horses will mean absolutely nothing in the show ring when the rider does not have their focus in the right place. Winning does not have to be the product of big and fancy things that many people cannot afford. It is about your attitude and perseverance in knowing that you can do anything you set your mind to. You cannot rely on your horse alone to win the class for you because without your own personal “will to win” everything falls apart. Do you agree? What are the experiences you have had in the show ring that seemed to be a competition of money rather than horses? Let me know what ya’ll think. Later Partner!