Relateable Equestrian Rants

22. Not a Sport?

22. Not a Sport?

All credit to @idratherberidinng on instagram.  These are her words/opinions, not mine

Hmm so you're saying horseback riding isn't a sport... This isn't gonna be a regular rant that all it says is "we don't sit there" but anyways, if you say it's not a sport, I just ask you to read this and tell me if you feel the same.  In our sport we don't have breaks, or timeouts.  We don't have a "season."  We play from the -20 degree day to the 110 degree day.  We don't quit on account of weather or postpone because of injuries.  We communicate without words.  In our sport we have the ability to judge distances like a golfer, the balance of a dancer, the muscle of a gymnast, etc.  Our sport is about finding distances, swapping leads, spinning, doing the 8 minute dressage test, and looking good while doing it.  We also have to bandage horses, make sure they get all the right supplements, be sure they get just the right amount of exercise, groom them constantly, make sure they get new shoes every three weeks, mucking stalls in all weather, all while smiling and making it look easy.  If you think running, jumping, or throwing a ball is in any way more of a "sport" than trying to control an animal 10 times your size, with a mind of its own, who can kill you in a heartbeat...while riding towards a solid object taller than you, PROVE IT TO ME.  I dare you to get on a horse and do what we equestrians do.  We're dedicated.  We're gusty.  We didn't choose this sport, it chose us.  We didn't start it because we love mucking stalls on a freezing cold or boiling hot day.  Somewhere behind the rider you've become, there was the little girl that fell in love with the pony, the sport, and never looked back.  One more thing... Maybe you "play" baseball.  Or "play" soccer.  But do you "play" horseback riding?  No.  because it's much more than a little game.  It's my life.  It will always come first.