Author: News

I wish Yogi Berra also rode horses.

If you're not familiar with the Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees, he won 10 World Series titles, more than any player in baseball history, during a career that spanned 19 seasons from 1946 to 1965. He was a three-time American League Most Valuable Player and an 18-time All-Star.

Berra also served in the United States Navy as a gunner's mate during World War II and was part of the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, shooting down enemy planes from a landing craft support boat. He earned a Purple Heart and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

However, Yogi is remembered just as much, if not more, for a treasure trove of witty sayings. When first reading them, they come across as absurd, humorous, and lighthearted. But, upon reflection, they are a mix of genius and amused wonder about life's complexities.

For example, the Yogism of “When you come to a fork in the road, take it” is also the title of one of several books he authored. Let's break that down: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Well, what else would you do at a fork in the road? But should you go left or go right?

“People are always afraid of making the wrong choice,” Berra wrote. “But no matter what decision you make—taking a job, getting married, buying a house, whatever it is—you shouldn't look back. Trust your instincts.”

Sure, Yogi could have just said it that way from the start, as I'm sure many self-help books do, but cloaking the advice the way he said it takes the edge off. Life doesn't have to be so serious to be done well.

However, one of the biggest challenges I face, in riding and in life, is that I take things too seriously.

“You should start your next article with, 'I quit riding again,'” Ashley Horowitz, now my wife as well as trainer for Super G Sporthorses, has said about my last three “Thoroughbred Makeover Diaries.”

She's right. I have quit riding more times than I can count—probably three times since my last article a month ago. But it lasts for a total of about 30 minutes each time.

“You realize you're not going to quit, so stop tormenting yourself,” Ashley says.

She's right. (I've been married for less than a month and am getting good at saying, “She's right.) So, with Yogi Berra as the metaphorical gunner's mate offering support as I invade the eventing world, I've compiled a collection of sayings that perhaps Yogi would have said if he rode horses. I've found something profound in each of them, but they're also lighthearted. 

“Why are you rushing? We don't have all day!”—unknown German dressage instructor

Dressage in Germany is performed with the same precision that goes into making German automobiles and German beer. Germany has won the team gold medal in dressage at every Olympics since 1984 with the exception of a silver medal in 2012. Besides being its own sport and the first of the three disciplines in eventing, dressage serves as a foundation for proper riding that can apply to any equestrian sport.

There is a long checklist of items to keep track of during a dressage test—rhythm, relaxation, throughness, connection, communication with the horse, trust, geometry, and more. There are no shortcuts. So, regardless of how long a lesson or training program is, rushing is not an option, but amount of time is not necessarily related to desired outcome.

Sometimes, progress is quick. Ashley retrained the 4-year-old filly Emily's Pegasus to do her first event one month and one day after her last race. I've had lessons with Cubbie that last 15 minutes. “You're done,” Ashley will say if we do a rhythmic line of jumps and accomplish the goal of a lesson at first asking.

Other times, the progress is slower. I've had lessons with Cubbie that last two hours because of temper tantrums (either by her or me).

The Thoroughbred Makeover is for horses with less than a year of retraining. (Although in 2021, we'll also see horses that were planning to compete in 2020.) It's a relatively short amount of time to retrain a former racehorse, but there are some tremendous performances across all disciplines. Regardless of the amount of time, the expected standard shouldn't waver.

“The slower you go, the faster you get there.”—Nicole Brown, host, USEA Podcast

How is it possible to get somewhere faster by going slowly? Like with the previous quote, focusing on the fundamentals serves as a strong foundation to build toward the desired outcomes we dream of when starting to work with a new training project. Brown and her guests explain more on the USEA podcast about “Producing a Young Horse.”

“Sometimes both their brain cells collide.”—Laura Backus, trainer, Pendragon Stud Equestrian Center

Horses are not machines. It's amusing that the greatest compliment paid to a racehorse was when announcer Chic Anderson described Secretariat as a “tremendous machine” during Big Red's peak performance in the 1973 Belmont Stakes.

The toughest part of the training I'm going through with Cubbie is getting her mental ability to catch up to her physical ability. Cubbie is a 4-year-old filly. She's still trying to figure out how the world works. She has strong opinions. She gets overwhelmed.

Backus said this to me during Cubbie's first eventing competition at Pendragon in June. It helped put Cubbie's progress as a 4-year-old filly in perspective. Instead of focusing on physical victories with her, the mental ones are more rewarding and significant.

Getting to be a part of the eventing community through a clinic with upper-level rider Courtney Sendak at Spring Gulch Aug. 17

“Here's to you having an unremarkable performance!”—Dorothy Trapp Crowell, World Equestrian Games silver medalist and winner of first-ever U.S. national four-star championship

Crowell, who made eventing history with the OTTB and USEA Hall of Famer Molokai, is currently giving back to the Thoroughbred industry through her involvement with the We Are Here Initiative based at the Kentucky Horse Park.

I had told Dorothy about my ups and downs with Cubbie, such as the seven stitches I got during a dressage lesson the week of the Spring Gulch Horse Trials in July.

Her advice was to use each phase of my first recognized event with Cubbie as an opportunity to learn and bond with my horse. The best result would be one that we could build upon through a simple, straightforward ride. On a horse that's given so much excitement, having a drama-free event would certainly help us grow more.

“Equestrians don't make mistakes; mistakes make equestrians.”—Daniel Stewart, Sports Psychologist, Pressure Proof Coaching Academy 

Eventing is an unforgiving sport. Baseball players get three strikes during an at-bat and at least three at-bats if they play an entire game. One swing and a miss will be forgiven, even forgotten, if the next swing leads to a home run, or even just a single. However, a swing and a miss at a jump could cost an eventer a ribbon or even lead to elimination from an entire competition.

Therefore, it becomes enticing to dwell on mistakes. Stewart explains on a USEA podcast about sports psychology that mistakes should be viewed as learning opportunities for which to be thankful.

“They make us bigger and braver and bolder and brighter,” he said.

These quotes were all said by accomplished riders as advice to help greenies like myself grow. When I first started riding horses five years ago, I was so worried that each mistake I made would show how much I didn't belong. However, the mistakes I've made have given me the chance to grow and fit in more. Eventers root for each other. Thoroughbred Makeover participants root for each other. Mistakes weirdly help us all become winners and part of our own special community.

The post Thoroughbred Makeover Diaries Presented By Excel Equine: ‘Mistakes Make Equestrians’ And Other Words Of Wisdom appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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