I feel like this was a stem off my post that you commented on…no need to be a debbie downer. We all want to get somewhere, so what?
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Yeah, and who here is getting hurt if some internet person who they don’t even know DOESN’T reach their goals?
I mean, do I know what it takes to get there? Yes, and that’s why I realistically know I won’t make it. :lol: But maybe someone else has more money than I do along with that laser focus and general good luck, and they will.
So I don’t really see a need to get online and tear them down, even if I think they’re being insane…the real world will probably hit soon enough for them.
That being said, there’s nothing wrong with giving someone a better idea of what they need to do to get from point A to point Z…there are of course a LOT of factors that they need to think about. But I think that is different from the general tone of this thread. Not that I don’t understand the exasperation a little bit.
And for the love of Pete, it’s not just a millennial issue. It’s a human condition to want instant gratification and to dream big.
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I think that the reason you see more total newbies saying this is that they have no idea that you can compete successfully and happily on a local or regional level.
They may also think that all they need is a “big break” to get to the top.
Or that this is the only measure or expression of desire of being a good rider.
Certainly it is not how more experienced horse people describe their ambitions unless they are very close to getting there. More savvy horse people would say, Fluffy is pretty much maxed out at 3 feet but Big Bob is showing some scope and we’re schooling 4 feet at home. Fingers crossed I’ve got a big time horse this time!
Btw in my region there is an unrated class at some shows called a Mini Grand Prix. The Prix part is that some local person maybe a construction company owner with a grand daughter who rides, sponsors maybe a $500 prize. The mini is that the fences are only 3 feet or 2 foot 9. Basically you can call a class anything you want, after all.
I expect part of the glamor of the real Grand Prix jump circuit is that you get big prize money and it’s the only model newbies have of being a professional rider on a par with a professional hockey player.
Not realizing that the ammie/pro definition works differently in horses than team sports.
So old Mr. Bumbleface the grade 8 PE teacher who couldn’t run five steps to save his life would under horse rules technically be a pro in football, basketball, softball, and girls floor hockey, because he is paid to teach them all.
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Your whole post was well-said, but I got a good giggle out of this part. Very true.
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I think a lot of people have goals like this when they start out. For most of us we started riding and had these goals pre-COTH and for me it was before internet was a thing. The difference now is people ask online not in their barn.
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Every kid who starts gymnastics or swimming thinks they are going to the Olympics so it is definately not unique to horses.
My kid rides but doesnt really show. Her lofty goals include jumping 3 ft and being able to school the lesson horses. She seems pretty happy with it.
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I had a good laugh over this! As a little kid I was going to ride in the Olympics (eventing—once I was informed that there wasn’t an Olympic Hunter Squad :lol: ). So my mom took me on a girls-only road trip when I was 10 to the Kentucky Horse Park, which was going to be hosting the upcoming World Championships.
We took the public trail ride around the cross-country course and our guide made it a point to halt next to several of the fences. It took about five seconds of gob-smacked staring up at that enormous fence that had a fort-like wood palisade on top of a huge grass-covered mound (no idea what its official name is) for me to decide that my aspirations could be cheerfully lowered substantially at that point!
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Given where you are right now (based on the riding bio that you posted), if you had posted your goal is to do a national hunter derby, I think there would be a lot of support for and advice relevant to achieving that.
If you had posted that you were a 20 something re-rider who competed at 3’ or 3’6" in high school but didn’t ride in college, I think there would be a lot more folks willing to buy into your 5* GP dream. Fact is without the experience at a younger age, your 5* GP dream is pretty out there unless you have extraordinary innate ability or lots and lots and lots of money to spend pursuing it.
There is a difference between being a Debbie downer and a Debbie realist.
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The first time I ever walked around the cross country course at the Horse Park I had the same reaction. I could not wrap my mind around the knowledge that horses actually jumped those things. It just seemed all kinds of crazy to me. :lol:
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IMHO it can be easier for a 12 year old to rattle on about “trainer said I should be going to the Olympics cause I look so good on a horse” than it is to actually go and get a ribbon in the 2 foot 3. Once kids have some clear goals and accomplishments in their sights, they adopt more realistic goals. Dreaming too big can in fact be a way of not doing the real work you need to get from point A to point B, Once the 12 year old realizes that competition is really tough in the 2 foot 3, and getting a ribbon in a class of 45 little girls is not that simple, and that they can’t very realistically brag that they are going to win the cross poles Championship this year, they tone down the outrageous statements about Grand Prix and Olympics too 
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I also think that the subtleties of riding lend the sport to some very unrealistic aspirations.
Until you know what it takes, in terms of money, time spent, and abilities, people of all ages watch a Grand Prix class and (falsely) think “I could do that”.
The rest of us who have some working knowledge of what it takes and even a passing familiarity of that world shake our heads upon hearing those words.
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A lot of it has to do with maybe they go to their own “local” AA show and see the Grand Prix is not THAT big. I’m thinking of in Georgia, Louisiana, some TN shows etc. Their 25k GPs are only regional standard which is 1.35-1.45. Thats a monstrous difference from even the 2* GP at WEF. So maybe they could one day jump the regional standard $25k GP and that counts as it gets you on the 25k+ ranking list if you place.
As someone who came from average means yet started young I’ve been able to jump in classes most of the people here would’ve told me I needed several horses for to even get qualified. There is a degree of negativity on these boards of some burnt out people who believe they know best. I’m young(ish), and have spent my entire life riding and working towards goals I have. In reference to the thread that started this, yes that was a bit unreasonable, but almost every person being told who asks that no, it is almost impossible to achieve seems a bit skewed to me.
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But the reality is, it is almost impossible to achieve. As a thought exercise, let’s count up every horse crazy 12-16 year old kid in the US who is taking riding lessons and, and let’s be modest in our aspirations here, dreams of competing, and doing well, in the 25K GP at the big regional show. What percentage of those students will ever achieve that dream?
I agree that there is no need to be aggressively negative in responding to those questions, but there’s nothing wrong with telling kids that it takes a lot of hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and, yes, a certain amount of money, to get really good at riding - and even being really good at riding is no guarantee of fame, fortune, and blue ribbons.
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Don’t think most who ask these questions are aware of the many intermediate levels that come between where they are and where they dream of being or the commitment it takes to master each one including willingness to sacrifice other activities for saddle time and seek the best trainer and horse for where they are now in order to get to the next step.
Even those with plenty of money burn out and fall by the wayside trying to get to the top. The horses are discarded when they get disillusioned. Hate seeing that but seen it a hundred times from those not satisfied with anything but the top without the guts and grit to put in that 10 years/ 10,000 hours in the saddle along with enduring injury and horse trouble. It’s a long haul, longer then the lives of some of those asking.
The better question would be “what can I do now to start being the best I can be at my current level with a goal of moving up the Jumper levels towards GPs” and telling us they have that passion for horses that will satisfy them even if they never make that very top level.
Hope that makes sense, it takes more then money. Lots more. But you do need money too.
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Probably more than you and I realize. I show at about 10-15 shows a year of all different variations of AA shows. From shows in Germantown, TN to Tryon, and rotating years of WEF/Ocala. And I do watch for results online for other shows I don’t attend. There are a lot of names I do not recognize at those more local style AA shows jumping in the prix, that also do the jr jumpers/ao jumpers before the prix. And I know the local scene that jump those classes quite well as it has small variation. So out of ALL the kids you’re right, it is a small percentage, but it really is not as small and elite as made out to be for the regional grand prixs.
By no means am I saying those people belong in there or that it is easy to watch, but a lot of people jump 25k grand prixs. A lot.
When I was younger ( a long time ago…) I had no access to the wolf df hunter jumpers… so my only knowledge of horses was the Triple Crown races… I swore I would be the first female Jockey to win the triple crown on a filly! well that all changed when I became 5’9" by 4th grade. But I still loved horses and did everything i could do to be around them, which mostly meant helping out at the local therapeutic riding program. From there i was blessed with my introduction to the world of hunters. And eventually jumpers. Did I ever have dreams of showing in the Grand Prixs? yes, and i almost had a horse that could have done at least the lower GP’s, but time, life and bills got the better of us…
Now I’m happily bringing along an OTTB and hoping we can make it to the 3ft hunters or jumpers, which ever makes him happier. IF he wants to jump higher, I will have to get my butt in gear so I don’t fall off. I don’t think it’s wrong for young riders to have aspirations, but I do think it would be helpful if someone were there to guide them along the way and let them know that it isn’t going toe easy, without a lot of money or hard work and someone giving you amazingoppoerunites along the way.
Actually, you came on here and literally asked “Can I do this?” That is a direct quote. The answer I gave was very nice, but also very realistic. You aren’t the first person to declare (with little experience, little money, and little clue as to what it really takes), that your goal is the Grand Prix, and quite frankly the concept is quite absurd. You didn’t say “hey what are some goals for someone like myself” or “what are the suggestions to make the Grand Prix level.” you said “can I do this?” Which, yes lead me to this thread. As I keep encountering this idea over and over and each time it’s equally absurd to me. I’m not talking about the young aspiring riders that have talent, with big goals, I’m talking about the kind of riders that have never ridden a green horse, buy a yearling, and declare it is their grand prix prospect. True story.
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I still think that it is perhaps the top 5% of riders in the h/j world at this level. Maybe my comparison to PGA was a little extreme, and the Nike Tour would be a better fit.
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Yeah, this. I should have been more clear but I didn’t want to single out any group. There was a barn I rode at full of intermediate level adult armatures, a great group of gals. But the number of times I heard (especially over wine) that their goal was the grand prix…enumerable. To me being a kid with dreams is very different than this type. I honestly think it irks me so much because I have put in the time, energy, and MONEY to get where I am (and am not), and maybe I just find it insulting that someone thinks they can be really and truly with the grand prix goal without the work put in. Or maybe I’ll just be jealous if they make it.
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I have never torn down anyone’s dream that didn’t ask for an opinion on it (see above, the other thread the person asked “Can I do this?” But I DO get super eye rolley about it. Maybe it’s jealousy, or maybe it’s the fact that I’m barely navigating a 3’ course at current, or maybe it’s just so unrealistic that eye rolleyness is appropriate.
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