Balancing Act: School and Riding

Riding is a very extensive sport that requires not only several hours daily of dedication but also immense time management and commitment skills. Striking a balance between studying, classes and pursuing equestrian goals is not easy. It calls for a lot of sacrifices and proper planning to achieve these goals. I have been riding since the age of four, and it is something I have had to grow accustomed to very fast, learning the best tools to achieve all my academic and athletic goals.

What is essential for someone is to plan their time and maintain the schedule with personal discipline. Setting realistic and achievable goals plays a significant part in one's path to success. There are fundamental goal settings to adopt in the quest of gaining relevant skills as an equestrian rider. Firstly, one needs to be honest, setting realistic and honest goals to achieve. Secondly, seeking help wherever you can find necessary. Riding alone biases one's vision and that of the horse. Having someone close to encourages you, especially professionals who help in learning new tricks and how to become the best you can be. Thirdly, horses too have physical limitations in some aspects like athletic ability, confirmations and sometimes injuries. Limitations are significant in goals setting as an equestrian rider. Before engaging in a competition, one considers factors like time, money and the type of horse that you can use. Setting a more realistic expectation works out the plans. One needs personal discipline and time management skills to strike a balance the two. Failure to manage their time might lead to a student skipping classes for riding which they much enjoy doing than sitting in class. As the successful rider from Wellington, FL Lillie Keenan states, “…time management, making a plan and focusing on one task at a time.”

Another excellent example of a successful Equestrian who has demonstrated a balance between the sport and their academics is Alex Crown, “well I think the first thing is that I go to Miami, so it makes it much easier to go back and forth. I also have been able to arrange my classes so that I only have class Monday-Wednesday. The school has been great about letting me take classes that don't work into my schedule online. And then beyond that, you just really need to be disciplined with yourself. Like when you have work due set aside time so that you can finish it. I normally try to get all of my work done on Tuesdays, but if I have more leftover, then I just make sure I give myself a night during the weekend to get it done" Alex Crown.

There is a need to measure progress in both education and equestrian goals, results from both the side obviously will help someone evaluate where they are doing good and improve where they are not good. Measuring progress entails doing personal checks on the weekly or monthly basis by seeking feedback on results class assignments asking for help where necessary. In riding, measuring of progress can be done best by engaging friends and observing what they do uniquely that cannot meet. Lastly one needs to be honest with themselves by engaging in an activity they can best deliver. Before considering Equestrian Olympics beside classes, one needs to agree with themselves that they’re going to achieve the two. In case of a clash in timing, one has to critically and wisely consider one and report to the relevant authority about the clash.

There are always roadblocks to expect. It is not possible to identify all barriers that one can encounter on the path of achieving goals. Different things come up. Injuries and illness are minor things for professional equestrian. There is always a lesson to learn from the roadblocks. One can stumble on their path to success, but this becomes part of their experience. It is very significant to avoid dwelling on the setbacks; they are likely to drag us behind. Having no worries of yesterday and focusing on what is to come tomorrow keeps me moving forward.