Friday, October 14, 2011

1 Week Until Ram Tap

The countdown begins. One week from today I will be loading up the trailer and driving on up to Fresno for the Ram Tap Horse Trials. I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm resolved.





Time to revisit our goals. For this competition, I want to make it through each of the three phases without getting eliminated. I don't care if I come in last place - I just want to get a total score at the end. I know it doesn't sound like too lofty of a goal, but to be honest I am a bit nervous about achieving it! But I just gotta think positive and be a strong, supportive rider for Spirit.

Another goal is to have my "mental reset button" armed and ready and fully functional. "Manure" happens - its a fact of life - and it's pretty much guaranteed at shows. But the important thing is how you respond to it. I don't want to waste a single minute feeling negative, unproductive emotions or getting myself in a bad mental state. If things start to come apart on course, or if I'm stressed, or whatever may come up - I want to be able to not let it drag my attitude down and affect mine or Spirit's enjoyment. Gotta be able to press that mental reset button and move forward in a positive way.

I'm very happy that my best friend Jessica and her horse Storm (Spirit's best bud) will also be showing. We'll be competing against each other at the Beginner Novice division. I hope the schedule is such that we can watch each other, but ultimately we each have to do our own thing and manage our own schedules. Another gal from our barn, Wendy, will be competing also. She came to the last HT and she is a calm presence and a great rider.

This Week's To-Do List:

  • Practice perfect. Focus on Forward.
  • Clean tack.
  • Pack up my gear at home.
  • Pack up my gear at the barn.
  • Make checklists.
  • Bathe, clip, and trim Spirit
  • Go grocery shopping and prep food.


At this show, I plan on being 100% self sufficient and independent. While I greatly appreciated the help that others offered me at the last show, I realized later that I was kindof dependent on it. On my third day, no one was there to help me tack up or get ready, and I was not only way more stressed out, but I was late to the warm up ring. This time, I'm going to plan my days as if I am doing everything 100% on my own, and therefore if people help me out - great - but if not, I'll be fine too.

No comments:

Post a Comment