Saddle Seat Wednesday
Another competitor in Adult Academy used the hashtag #howmanydaystillnationals. I thinks to myself, I can answer that. So, when I updated the AEC counter ([AEC], link in the upper right corner), I added a Nationals countdown. Since that came out in months & weeks, days.to gave me the exact answer. As of yesterday, 324 daystillnationals. I remain adamantly ambivalent about the show itself.
My competitive side: Horse show! Horse show!
The sane part of me: No! No! No!
Competitive, adopting a wheedling tone: If I work reeeeeally hard at my equitation all year …
Sane: I can ride with no stirrups from now till October. I still won’t have the temperament for equitation.
Competitive, stomping feet: I want that Sunday blue!
Sane: It’s about the process, not the ribbons. Happiness is not tied to results.
Competitive: It’ll be good experience.
Sane: It’s been four years of good experience. Enough is enough.
Competitive: I got something else to do the last weekend in October?
Sane: —
Competitive: Horse show! Horse show!
Sane: I’m never going to be reasonable on this subject am I?
Competitive: HORSE SHOW!
In reality, until such time as I ride in a suit class, Nationals will remain an option. We’ve seen how good I am at resisting the siren song of the show ring [To Show or Not To Show].
At least I got a blog post out of it.
Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott
Virtual Brush Box 
You’re doing so well in academy, why not move up to suit? It can’t be much of a challenge if you know you’re going to take blue every time.
Of course, you are right about challenges. However,
In general, Academy is all about equitation. I’d rather focus on the horse.
In specific, I’ve been a bridesmaid at this show for four years. Yes, I’m pleased to have gotten that far. But I seem to be stuck (there’s that word again) at the same spot, over and over. Nothing I do leads to improvement. Do I continue to plug away or do I admit that being the perfect equitation diva may not be my gig, see above. When does admirable effort cross over into pointless perseverance?
Tough question.