Today’s topic is why is dressage so hard? I love the sport of dressage. I just love the horses, I love training, I love everything about it. But there are definitely days that I get super discouraged, and I just feel like it is the hardest sport. It’s so hard to make progress sometimes, and it’s so hard to achieve your goals.
Part of what’s amazing about dressage is that it’s not just about us, we have a partner, so we have another animal that’s a part of our team. They may have good days, they have bad days.
Another reason that dressage is so hard is that it’s not always linear. You’re going to have ups and downs, highs and lows.
Also, no two horses and no two riders are the same. So it’s going to be different for different horses. Every horse that I’ve ever trained is different. They have different strengths and weaknesses, they have different things that upset them, and different things that come really easy to them. They all are a little bit asymmetric in a completely different way.
Another reason that I think dressage is really hard is because, as humans, we always have a time schedule. In our life, we have certain goals, for example “by the end of the year, I want to have accomplished X, Y, Z.” And horses aren’t that way at all; they don’t operate on a time schedule. Sometimes they need a little more time, sometimes they need less time.
It is a hard sport, but how lucky are we to get to ride these amazing creatures? Horses are just so generous and so honest, and they don’t hold a grudge, and they try their best for us. So just remember that, and be grateful for your horse for what you have today.
Happy Riding!
Amelia
