How many of you used to show other disciplines?

[StrawberryFields]

Heyyy fellow horse lovers!

I have been riding horses since I was 11 (I am 27 now). I started riding english at a busy lesson barn that also did local hunter shows, eventing, and pony club. For a long time that was my focus. I loved being competitive and it gave me something to work towards and it felt good completing goals. I also made lots of friends in the process and I LOVED my horse at the time. She was my favorite horse I’ve ever met by far. But just like so many others I went to college and had to sell all my horses and tack, trailer, etc etc. I did the school’s equestrian club while I was in there and again, competed. Then after college I moved and I haven’t really ridden since. I always had this mindset that I must be training for something, competing, blah blah blah or none of it is worth it. WELL I found out in my later years after college that I wasn’t enjoying it anymore. I wasn’t enjoying the pressure of HAVING to go to the barn to ride so I could show. I didn’t like getting yelled out in lessons. I felt inadequate because I hadn’t showed in so long. I started to avoid the barn and I went 2 years with no horses. But I have found a barn near me that does western and trail riding (there are some english riders too) and I really want to give it a shot and just have fun with no pressure to show. I love the training aspect of horses and I’ve ridden western many times. I honestly just want to go trail riding or do groundwork or natural horsemanship. It is making me really happy again. I guess the whole point of this, has anyone else gone through a similar thing like this? Rekindling love of horses after a stressful start with them in life? This barn is perfect but it’s so different than what i’m normally used to. Im kind of in love and feel like I’m starting all over again. I feel so giddy-almost like when I first started riding.

[quietann]

Have fun! In whatever way seems best to you. I do sometimes envy the Western/trail/NH folks because they just seem to have more fun. It might be silly fun, but fun anyway.

I’ve pulled way, way back from dressage over the past few years. Still have the same horse but when the trails are open, we do a lot of trail riding, alone and with others. Solving the “puzzles” on a trail ride is just way more satisfying to me than getting the perfect shoulder-in or square halt or transition etc.

The nicest thing about last year was crossing the Ipswich River… We did it many times, went over to Groton House, Appleton Farms etc. some of the nicest places to ride in the area. (I did get help with it… someone else rode her her first time through, because she and I were bashing heads over it. But I never would have believed that she would cross a RIVER, even a tiny knee-deep one.)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SxoUOTcWjAWWDIFU2

[PrincessPonies]

I totally get it. I was lucky enough to keep my horse through college, there were days that she was the only thing keeping me sane. However the couch felt very strongly about showing and put a lot of pressure on people to show. I ended up moving my girl and I know of two others who also left. I haven’t shown since then and love being able to just ride. I didn’t change disciplines, still love jumping, but we do it for fun and trail ride a lot. It’s only been recently that I’ve thought about showing in one of the local fun shows but that would be for fun. Enjoy horses however you want. I know some ho ended up getting minis and running around with them.

[tinah]

I just like horses. I’m not competitive in any sense, I just want to give my horses the best ride possible in repayment for packing me around. So I hone my skills for my and my horse’s sake, not to meet someone else’s arbitrary standard.
I feel like being able to function in an unfamiliar or scary situation is vital to a horse’s education, and it’s my job as a responsible owner to expose my horse to as many different things as possible.
I like to do things with other people who love horses, so for now we hunt, and play day, and hang out with my rodeo friend, and go for long walks on the road around the house, and sometimes we jump and sometimes we gallop and sometimes we just hang out together and I read and the horse eats.

[allons-y]

I started my horse life in an area full of Western Pleasure or speed event QHs and built-up gaited horses. Those were the choices. I did speed events on the 11 hand Demon, complete with that little Western saddle that had a bare metal horn (WTH?) Once while riding my valiant scruffy Shetland, I came across an ENGLISH barn - OMG my life changed instantly. Poor little guy became a jumper. (Complete with lots of reins and bits and crops so I finally had some say in our rides.) I finally spent more time in the saddle than I did in the dirt or ER.

Then someone else got a pony cart for their little red mare Diamond. Yep, speed and wheels!? Sign me up!

Then I outgrew the pony and got a ‘real’ horse. I tried to do the WP thing, complete with Burgundy Mohair reins, pad and big Western hat. Boooring. So I got an English saddle and he became a jumper. Then my best friend got into Arabians and my saint of a horse did Endurance. Sense a pattern here?

More years, more horses. “Found” Eventing, and Dressage and Drill Team and Mounted Sheriffs Patrol and and and…

In other words, enjoy horses, that’s why God gave them to us. They are an incredible gift.

[Palm_Beach]

@StrawberryFields - can you do something else competitive other than riding and save riding for pure recreation?

P.S. Once you get some more decades on you, you’ll look back at all those years of competing and see the points reset to 0 after every year and realize the futility of getting emotionally vested in points. Have fun!!!

[2DogsFarm]

Do Whatever & do it All!

I grew up riding Huntseat in the 60s (a bit different than today’s Hunters) and remained an English rider through High School, competing in local shows.
Insert 20-or-so-year vacay from riding for Life.
Started as a Re-Rider in my mid-30s & never looked back.

I stayed with Hunters, bought my first horse & competed semi-regularly - maybe 6 shows a season - but we did very well: lots of Reserves & a few Champions.
I made sure we hacked out too & was snitched on by the Hunter Princesses who reported to my Trainer that I had GASP! jumped him over logs!… wearing sneakers!!
Oh! The Horsemanity!!

Plus I started getting offers from local BNTs to buy him < including {insert brag here} Diane Carney
But I decided even the Big Bucks would not guarantee another like him, so he stayed with me for the next 20yrs.
In which we dabbled in Dressage & Eventing (schooled to Training) rode a lot of trails & never let Pressure intrude.

I have stuck with Dressage as I find it very Zen, but also still ride on trails when I can & even have taken my horses camping.
My latest addition is a mini who drives.
Right now we’re sticking to Ring classes as he’s not yet 4.
But we played with cones & he seems to enjoy it so who knows, CDEs & Marathon could be in our future.

End of Ramble.
Do whatever makes you happy on a horse. :yes:

[Mukluk]

I am very competitive (as in like to compete vs. I win). However, due to time and money I mostly trail ride these days. When I was able to compete we did various schooling shows (mostly english including trail classes in english tack), some dressage and some lower level eventing. We have also done trail trials, cow sorting, and were on a drill team for awhile. Last summer we were in a play day that involved various gymkhana events including pole bending and barrels. I always feel that horses need to get out on trails for their own sanity (and I love trail riding too). If I had to pick between showing and trail riding I would choose trail riding.

[AshleyandAnnabel]

I competed on the “A” circuit in Show Jumping for a decade. I competed in Eventing for 5 years after that. I switched to Endurance and Trail late 2015 and have never been happier.

I never felt like my life was meant to be spent in an arena. I used to day dream about galloping right off the cross country course and to just keep galloping.I did weekly trail rides as part of my conditioning program for my hot TB mare to help her relax. The only time she seemed happy was out on the trail where I could allow her to be on the buckle. When I was a little girl, I would stare out the windows and dream of riding up and down mountains and galloping through meadows. I grew up obsessing over western films just because I loved the idea of riding through the west. I ended up in those sports simply because that was all I knew. I thought Endurance was a sport in the Middle East but not the U.S.

I have nothing against Eventing. I just moved across town and it would take 90 minutes to haul out to my eventing trainer which I was no longer willing to do after graduating from college and starting a career. Because I work in education, I have to structure my events around my time off. In the southwest, we don’t have a lot of horse trials that landed on my breaks and is non-existent in the summer because it’s too hot. I decided it was no longer worth the investment as I wouldn’t have that great of a pay-off.

I tried getting back into show jumping one last time before I switched to Endurance. I informed my last trainer that if this didn’t work out for me I was going to quit showing and retire my mare as a trail horse. Living on a teacher budget, I had planned to attend a big “A” show in Del Mar, CA during the summer. I had to save up for 4 months to be able to afford it. A random monsoon ended up coming through from Mexico and rained out the show and I wouldn’t get my money back. I saved up all that money to ride in two classes; one of them during a rain storm where everyone else scratched. I realized that I could not afford it anymore and I was no longer happy. I also got sick and tired of trainers charging me for ridiculous things and giving horrible advice. I debated with a trainer once who was trying to charge me a groom fee of $300 for a show where I did my own grooming and informed her well in advance. They claimed it was a mandatory fee to cover the costs of grooming supplies, even though I used my own supplies. I also questioned a trainer who claimed that my mare was getting her farrier services done but her toes were definitely overgrown. I hired another farrier on my own and he confirmed that her toes were so long and her heels were so bad that she had to be laid up for 2 months. I also had a trainer put my mare on strictly grass hay in hopes to calm her down. She never quieted down, but she lost 200 pounds. Needless to say, I’ve lost my faith in trainers and don’t trust ANYONE anymore.

I was really lucky when I became what I would consider an “independent horse owner” without a trainer dictating my horses’ lives when I moved to a private breeding facility to board my horse(s). There was an Endurance rider there who ended up becoming my mentor and still is. I’m currently working on my blog that is geared for people who are coming from the show ring and are interested in trail riding and endurance like I was but don’t know where to start. You can still be competitive with yourself by setting mileage goals. Each month, I track my miles on Endomondo and try to increase my mileage by 10% every month.

I’ve never been happier with my horse life. I love being in control of what I do with my horses. I love having a close relationship with my farrier, vet, and barn owner without a trainer in the way. I’ve met so many awesome people in our little endurance community here in Arizona. I love getting to travel to incredible places and see the West on the back of my horses. I will take riding the trails and camping with friends ANY DAY over going back to the show life. Endurance and trail riding are much more affordable for me and I feel like the investment is more worth it.

[SuzieQNutter]

I used to event and show jump. The I was a trail ride guide. Now I do dressage at home.

[cayuse]

I grew up riding/showing whatever horse was available to a kid without a lot of money. I started out hunt seat but also rode western and saddleseat depending on the “horse of the moment”. When I was a kid I seemed to end up leasing broodmares who were " skipping" a year for whatever reason. As I got older most of the horses I have had were ones that I did not buy for the discipline that they were trained for, it was more like they fell into my hands through fate (or whatever you want to call it) and again, I adapted to them.
Now that I am REALLY older, I took up driving with a mini. I remember being ten years old at the county fair and falling in love with the pleasure driving ponies. I told my mom right then that that was what I wanted to do with horses. It took forever to get there, but I got my driving pony!
In hindsight I wish I had been able to start driving when I was much younger, it is the discipline that makes me the happiest. I am not much good at it yet but I love it. So OP do whatever it is that makes you the happiest. If you end up someplace different than expected, enjoy the journey.

[springer]

I used to live & work in a big city and & trained in dressage on my TB gelding. In 2005 he and I moved to Montana. He passed away years ago and I’ve since bred a number of horses. Fwd 13 yrs… I now own a 10 yr old andalusian mare and a 6 yr old oldenburg mare, who is the granddaughter of a mare I acquired when I first moved here. My property is very rural and is bordered by NFS. We are very limited here with dressage resources, to say nothing of the cost of lessons and training and showing. So for practical reasons, both of my mares, though originally bred for dressage, have been started “western style” and are trail horses! It’s fun but I do miss dressage!

[beau159]

I like showing and competing because I feel like it gives me goals to work toward. Always trying to better our barrel times; always working on flying lead changes and reining spins, and just getting the horses more broke.

But I will say the majority of my riding is out on the trails, because that’s how I keep my horses conditioned. For me, it’s also my stress reliever to just GO RIDE and enjoy my horse.

So I like to think I have a good balance of “just” trail riding along with being competitive.

[Marney]

I am at this point now… I have evented since I was a kid and got to the Prelim level. I loved it and have a great event horse right now, he is 16 and my body is not what it used to be as I just got my second back surgery and my surgeon said I will probably need another one… I want a little quieter time with my horse now… My TB loves to just go out and hack and I am excited not to have the pressure or the $$$$. I just really enjoy my horse and want to spend time with him. I like having goals so endurance seems to be where I will be heading next but excited for the journey!!! Glad to hear others have done the same!

[RedHorses]

@AshleyandAnnabel

• would you give us the link to your blog, please?

I too have done a mishmash of disciplines depending on the opportunity of the moment. But I have always loved trail riding and made it part of my regular routine no matter what else I was working towards.

I had planned to do a couple of competitive rides (set speed or CTR) with my horse this year, but stuff happened. I volunteered, scribing for the vet and pit crewed a couple of times instead. Then I was offered the ride on a friend’s horse and got my first taste of competition in a 12 mile set speed. I’m looking forward to doing more next year.

I still love dressage and will continue to train. As money permits I will do the odd show, but I’m not looking to campaign.

[tabula_rashah]

Started out in a hunter barn as a kid but realized around 16 or so that I didn’t actually like hunters lol. Rode jumpers, dressage and did some eventing in college, then added some gaming, driving and saddleseat. I got hurt pretty badly in my early twenties jumping and after recovering had a friend that introduced me to CTR which spilled over into endurance

[OneGrayPony]

When I was a kid I spent 5 days a week out on the mountain alone with my horse and one day a week in the ring. After that, I kept boarding at places where there weren’t trails available and couldn’t figure out why I was never fully satisfied just spending time in the ring. I’ve foxhunted (loved it), done hunters, evented, but this thread is helping me to realize that I love hacking out the most.