The thing about any skill is that the better you get at it, the easier it looks to anyone watching and this is frustrating when you're dealing with lawn chair jockeys. I tune them out with my constant motto, "show me what you mean on my horse". If they can't/won't, then they don't even register on my radar.
Riders know how much strength it takes to support yourself over a fence and not lean on your horse's mouth or throw off their balance, the burning in your hamstrings as you shift your weight back and hold your upper body still using only your abs, absorbing the landing of a thousand pounds back to the ground.
Other horse people know that we, as a group, work very hard. Not only to ride well but also to manage our stables and keep them clean and stocked. Moving 50 pound sacks of grain over icy ground in the winter and sweating throwing just as heavy hay bales in the summer, hauling water buckets, cleaning troughs, the list is long.
Then we show up to an event that tests our training and fitness looking like we are heading to dinner in Britain asking to be taken seriously as the athletes that we are.
If you saw an image of Beezie
which one makes you think "athlete"?
"But, it's tradition! Wool jackets are meant to protect you in a fall in the fields, stock ties support the neck, tall boots protect your legs, we can't muck with tradition."
With the exception of tall boots (I've torn my legs up forgetting a training ride or two so I don't care how silly I look wearing those) and a helmet, I have a hard time agreeing with tradition.
If we were allowed to compete in what we train in, think of the sponsors! The doors that open up for Under Armour to produce riding tanks that free up our arms to move fluid with our horses. Nike boot socks that cushion and cool. Adidas breeches that flex with us and look amazing.
There would still be plenty of room for tastefulness in a show arena that showcases our skills and our horses, without the pretentious suit.
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