GoHorseShow.com has recently given me a voice on their always informative and ever active website. I am grateful for the opportunity and will try not to waste it. The website has also given me freedom to write about whatever I want to! For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a “get er done” kind of girl. Usually not too serious, but not without a sense of humor, I get right to the point.
Since I have been given carte blanche to write as I would like, I have chosen to use the space to bring you perspectives from around the industry. To start, you will be stuck with mine. But in time, I will bring you perspectives from around the show ring, the practice pen, the training barn and the center of the show pen. Who knows, you might even get perspectives straight from the horse’s mouth. If you have a question you have always wanted to ask but were afraid to, here is your opportunity. Just click on the link, shoot me an email, and I will try to find the answer for you.
Always grateful for favor that comes my way, I will look forward to writing for the website and hearing from you, the reader. If you want to know a little more about me, check out my website: http://www.stephanielynn.net/.
Perspectives
Recently I was reminded of something that happened at a horse show with a customer as she came out of a showmanship class. Karen had been working hard at showmanship and was starting to get it. She had a good look in the pen, an attractive horse that was mostly cooperative and a good work ethic. However, when confronted with the judge during inspection, she would momentarily get lost, forgetting where she should be. Perhaps a bit intimidated by the close proximity of the judge, she would end up late, encounter the judge on her way to the other side or find her feet frozen to the ground. A confident capable woman outside the pen, she panicked a bit with the judge so close.
On this particular occasion, Karen crossed over correctly. She came out of the pen full of excitement at her accomplishment. Her face lit up with enthusiasm as she eagerly approached. I have no idea what her pattern lacked; maybe she trotted off without her horse or maybe the horse stepped out of his pivot, I do not remember. However, I immediately started, “if you ever want to compete here you will have to…” and stopped, closing my mouth.
I watched her face fall and quickly mirrored her crestfallen look with a look of my own. Too late, I realized that for this customer at this time, this was a huge accomplishment – a time to be cheered not chewed out.
Karen and I came from different worlds. Karen was returning to the show pen after years of hauling her kids to lessons, clinics and horse shows. For decades, I had been coaching students and taking horses to title wins at major horse shows. At the same moment, we both realized we were no longer in Kansas. Karen was not at the local saddle club show, and I was not in the practice pen at the World Show.
Karen did not realize until that very moment, confronted with my intensity, that she had just stepped from the little league to the big league. For my part, I forgot that I was not coaching one of my hardened students. In my early days, I made the assumption, often falsely, that every student who came to me wanted to win in Oklahoma City at AQHA’s World Championship Show. In actuality, that is what I wanted for them. It was not necessarily what they aspired to do.
No matter the situation, we all bring different perspectives to the table. In the heat of the moment, it is often difficult to realize that yours is not the only perspective. In fact, your perspective may not even be significant to the outcome. No matter how lousy you think your ride was, you still won the class. Or regardless of how good you thought your ride was, the judge did not place you. From on top of the horse, it feels like the horse’s head is up. From the ground, the horse’s head is six inches below the wither. From the center of the pen, the horse looks fun and easy to ride; while sitting in the saddle, remaining still requires every fiber of your being.
Our industry is ripe with controversy. The horses are too slow; the horses are too fast. Horse shows are too expensive; there should be more added money. We want more classes; we want to be done in time to go to dinner. Everyone weighs in differently arriving at each issue from a different perspective–one based on their personal experience.
My life has been spent teaching horses and riders. Sometimes, my voice comes from the trainer and sometimes the coach. When I speak as a friend, it is with your best interest at heart. And when I speak as a judge, it is not without compassion for I have accepted many lessons over the years. The horses have been good teachers yet accepting their lessons has not always been easy.
I am constantly confused whether I am a student first or a teacher first. The one thing that I know that I know, is horses. And I understand that receiving the message as a student has a different feel than sending the message as a teacher or instructor. Accepting lessons is not always easy. Some hurt more than others. Yet somehow, the right lesson has always come along at the exact moment– I needed it to allow me to move on.
For Karen, on that day, her accomplishment was something to be recognized; both from her perspective as a student and from my perspective as a coach. From the judge’s perspective it was right not to place Karen because her pattern was still flawed. Fortunately for me, Karen forgave my near retribution recognizing instead that I knew the moment our eyes locked, that I had made a mistake.
There is no better place to learn than while sitting on a horse’s back or standing in the center of the show pen. It has taken all my years, but I have come to the conclusion that I must always be a student first; in order that I may, one day, be a good teacher.
Looking forward, please do not hesitate to email me with suggestions for topics of discussion. As stated earlier, our industry is ripe with controversy. There is more than one way to view each issue and each has more than one possible resolution. Together we can accomplish great things. Stephanielynn.net
About Stephanie Lynn: Professional Horseman Stephanie Lynn coached her first AQHA World Champion in 1988. She has since coached, trained and shown World, Congress and Honor Roll horses across disciplines. She is a judge for AQHA, NSBA and APHA and has judged World Championship shows for each association. Most recently, Stephanie is the author of The Good Rider Series and A Lifetime Affair: Lessons Learned Living My Passion. The Good Rider Series is a library of resource material that is both practical and applicable in the barn and show ring for riders. Stephanie can always be reached through her website: http://www.stephanielynn.net to answer your questions, schedule a clinic or lesson.
