Ribbons and Faith

When I was a kid, I rode in a few horse shows.  I borrowed lesson horses or other people's horses and just showed for fun.  Competition is interesting and a good test of riding skills.  It's a way to measure your progress and how well you can remain calm under pressure, because if the rider is nervous, the horse will reflect that.  I rode a great lesson horse named Phantom in my first show when I was 13.  He was so calm and such a professional - he made me look good and we earned a blue ribbon! 

Phantom and I, and the adorable little white pony was named Clover.

First blue ribbon!

I remember another show I was in when I was 14 years old.  I was riding a sweet chestnut mare named "Copper Who".  Copper's owner had 12 horses and she let me help exercise a few of them.  When I started riding Copper, she had arthritis and moved stiffly.  I worked with her and used her for my riding lessons for about 6 months, and by the time the show came around, Cooper was moving beautifully and we made a nice pair.

I was nervous the day of the show and I couldn't calm myself down.  Copper was excited by all the activity that comes with a horse show - horses running everywhere, loud speakers blaring, people cheering and waving, ribbons and banners flapping... there is a lot of commotion for a horse to take in.  When I guided Copper into the show ring for our first class, I was shaking like a leaf and Copper's stride was bouncy and energetic.  We did alright at the walk and the trot.  I was trying to get a handle on my emotions and keep Copper under control.  But then the judge called for everyone to canter.  Copper and I ended up racing around the show ring so fast that I just remember the other horses and riders flashing past in blurs.  I tried to turn Copper in a circle to slow her down and nearly ran over the judge.  Twice.  We placed last in that class and all the rest of our classes.  When a judge has to dive into the dirt sideways to avoid being trampled, they tend to remember you and hold a grudge.  It was a crazy day and I was a little embarrassed, but Copper's owner was thrilled.  She was pleased because the horse she thought would be arthritic and lame for the rest of her life was feeling so good that she pranced and raced around like a filly.  That made me feel better, because no matter what color ribbons we won at the end of the day, Copper was healthy and I had helped make that happen.

Copper and I getting ready for show warm-up.

Soon after that show, I had to make the tough decision to give up horses for a few years to concentrate on swimming.  I wanted to earn a scholarship to college and thought I had a better chance at earning one for swimming than for equestrian sports (turned out I was correct).  I saved my show ribbons in a ziplock bag.  I saved them because I hoped that one day I would have a barn to hang them in.  Over the last 20 years I've kept that bag of ribbons, bringing them with me every time I moved, hop-scotching across the country, hoping some day I would have a barn wall to display them.

Last weekend I hung up those ribbons and I got a little emotional about it.  Half of these ribbons are 23 years old!  I've kept them for so many years; I've kept faith that one day I would have a place to hang them.  Faith that I could make this dream a reality.  It may have taken a while, but oh... it was so worth the wait.  I'm pretty sure that my show days are over, but I'm so glad that I have these colorful mementos to remind me of the little girl who knew that she'd have her own horse barn one day.

If you really want something, work hard, have faith, and make it happen.