White Gloves

I was always super meticulous in preparing my green beans for their second careers as sport horses. I had my share of setbacks with both Indy and Runkle, but on the whole they were both extremely well trained before they debuted at a sandbox (or start box).



We were schooling lateral work in dressage, and jumping much higher than intro at home, but that's where we started.


I did all the homework and when we did compete, we won.


I was always surprised when there was a blue ribbon waiting for me at the end of the day, probably because I have impostor syndrome and I assume everyone else is better than me. When I get a blue ribbon, there's a fraction of a second where I think "oh my god, really? What happened to everyone else?" Then I think about how much work I put in, and how hard both horses tried for me that day, and I feel fortunate that my hard work and luck coincided for that day.

I do feel that both horses careers were heart-breakingly short. While I wish I had had more time with both of them, I do wonder if I could've made better use of the time we did have.

How many times did I hang onto that entry because our canter transitions were 'not quite there'?

How many shows did I skip wearing my amazing purple show coat because it was 'only a schooling show' and I would have 'plenty of opportunities' to wear it?

How many cross country jumps did I wave off because I figured it'd be better if I waited for another day?

How often did I put off today what I thought I'd have ample time for tomorrow?


When I think about what I want to do with Spicy, all I see is the next few weeks. I'm planning a small dressage show in May, because I want to go to one before my honeylope and I don't know what the future holds. Do I think he's blue ribbon ready? Not really. Do I think he'll stay in the ring and execute the moves in some semblance of a test? I do.

I was looking at Austen's recent post and admiring her fancy auction pony and both of their outfits and wistfully wondering about when I'd be good enough with my hands to wear white gloves. I love how they look, they're so classic. And then a friend pointed out that judges can still see your hands with black gloves, and if I wore white ones the world wouldn't end.



Today is all we have. Buy the white gloves.

Comments

  1. AMEN! You go girl, buy the white gloves. And on that note, you're very right, I should send in that show entry, shouldn't I.

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  2. aw <3 it's so hard to know when to go for it, or when to wait and be patient. but those answers almost never have anything to do with how the rest of the world perceives us. so yea, get the gloves haha!

    also re: hands, i mayyyyyy or may not currently have a giant loop of ribbon tied to my dressage saddle's d-rings to hold while riding and force my wayward hands into behaving themselves lol....

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  3. Yes buy the gloves. Your hands look fine to me.

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  4. Amen, sister. Do the thing, wear the fancy shirt, buy the white gloves. The future is too uncertain not to.

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  5. So true! I often get that I don't feel ready feeling for a show, but you don't really know until you try. And do you really lose much if it's not a blue ribbon performance? Nope.
    So which brand of gloves did you get?

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  6. Love it!! I almost didn't buy that green jacket because I "only do schooling shows" and no one wears jackets at schooling shows. BUT YA KNOW WHAT? It's pretty and every season with my pony might be the last. So I bought it. Who knows if we're actually ready to show next weekend, it'll be a fun day with Dino either way!

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  7. Great sentiment! I think about all the opportunities said "nah" to in the past and I wouldn't have been worse off in any way if I had just seized the moment and said "yes".

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  8. Buy the gloves. Do it for the photos at least. And, who knows, maybe they'll remind you about your hands enough to help you out. That's what happens with me when I wear spurs. I remember not to tip my toes out. Lol

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  9. DO IT! (With that said, I don't think I'd ever be brave enough for white gloves. My hands bother me enough in black gloves in endurance photos LOL). I too have an awful case of imposter syndrome with all things horse-related. I honestly feel like I'm faking it.

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