J
U N I
Junior News Perspectives
M
O R
N E W S
by Morgan Geller
and sportsmanship among riders is one that is rarely seen in concert in other sports. It is rare in competitive sports that individual athletes, from all areas and of all levels, compete together repeatedly at one location only. In most other sports the ongoing bonding opportunities are only with the people on one’s team since the athletes rarely socially interact repeti- tively with their competitors. Horseshows, by their very nature, have an additional ma-
jor social component since riders are usually at shows all day long, not just two hours like soccer games as an example. With many breaks in-between rounds, riders have ample time to hang out with each other and that makes it easy to establish great friendships with riders from all over the country. These friendships are often long lasting relationships as riders will always be in contact with each other by simply going to the next shows. The most important aspect and bond of these friendships
is that people connect over something they both love. As I’m sure many riders out there know, it is not easy to have a conversation about competitive riding with someone who’s riding interest is a one hour sunset trail ride. It is much easier to talk with, and exchange ideas with, another rider who is just as passionate about the sport as you are. These friendships are especially important among junior
riders. Since showing on many different venues is the norm, many junior riders are homeschooled or leave school early in order to go compete. The equestrian community actually becomes somewhat of a mini high school of sorts. It teaches one life lessons and life skills that would not otherwise be learned, some difficult and some not. My realization of how tightly knit the junior rider’s friend-
ships are came to me during the Ronnie Mutch Equitation Classic at HITS Thermal. This competition is like no other that competitors see at most shows; it challenges the riders to lean on what they have been taught over the years. It puts in perspective the rider’s comprehension of not only riding, but how to independently prepare and warm up themselves and their horses for the show ring. Riders were not allowed any trainer instruction or contact and had to prepare for their rounds by themselves or with the help of other riders in the class.
work together, if at all. Yet as we gathered in the warm up ring by ourselves, with one groom each allowed to set fenc- es, I was pleasantly surprised of how much everyone helped each other. We all walked the course together and went over our plans; we acted as each other’s trainers. We talked a lot and exchanged advice and ideas then went to work, it was so much fun to rise to the challenge with all my friends working with each other. This class ended up being different than others. You didn’t
feel the pressure to beat out fellow competitors, just do the best you could and have a good time. No matter the end re- sults, it was exciting and rewarding to be able to feel the ac- complishment of working with everyone as a Team. It was a great experience and I can hardly wait for us to do it again.
26 Going into the class I was unsure how well everyone would
any people view riding solely as a sport, yet it also has a large social aspect. The camaraderie, friendships
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100