Lessons from a Horse Show

This week I participated in a horse show at the Utah State Fair. While there I was reminded of a few valuable lessons.

     1. Hairspray is VERY important

     2. Confidence is key

     3. Sometimes the last place ribbon is the prettiest

Hairspray is so important at horse shows because it holds your hair in place. Every rider must have their hair in a tight bun and if it falls out it is very unprofessional. It is not uncommon to go through insanely large quantities of hairspray in just one night. Hairspray is your best friend and your biggest supporter in a show. In life everyone needs their own "hairspray". Something or someone to support them and be their best friend. "Hairspray" makes you look your best and keeps you together when you are getting thrown around on the crazy ride of life. My real life "hairspray" would be my friends, family and the Gospel. They are there to share in my accomplishments, hold me up during the disappointments and hold things together when life gets crazy. Hairspray is VERY important. 

I was at this show with my Aunt Kris and my four year old cousin Madison. Madison has been riding since she was born and she rode in a lead line class during the show. A lead line class is when little kids get all dressed up to show and their parent or teacher leads them around the ring. In the end the judge cannot make a decision between all the great riders and everyone gets a trophy. It was all Madison could talk about the whole day before she showed. She got in her pretty pink shirt, boots and hat and was all ready to go. She sat up tall on that horse just like she had been taught and acted like she owned the world. She asked everyone if they liked the contestant number pinned to her back and her shirt and was constantly asking if she looked cute. When someone would compliment her she would just smile and say that she knew she was cute. This is how we all should be. Life is tough, and as adults I believe that we over-think a lot of things. Wouldn't life be easier if everyone could take a compliment, not worry what other people though and have confidence in themselves? Think of how many problems that would solve. I hope that I can have half the confidence Madison has and be half as happy as she is. Confidence is key. 

The horse I was riding at this show is called Vapor. He is a fifteen year old Arabian gelding that has not been shown since he was 5. I was showing him because his owners are trying to sell him and needed to get him out in the arena again. One of my classes had four horses in it. We had a rough ride and ended up taking 4th place. My ribbon was a small white ribbon that I was not very proud of because I knew we could do better. The next day I rode in a championship class with the same four horses. Vapor had had a really rough day. He had cut his tongue open, hit his head on his stall and had been deathly afraid of anything that moved (there are a lot of things that move at a fair). I was very nervous as we warmed up for our class and knew that it was going to be a hard one. We went in and rode our best and took..... 4th place again. However, this time my ribbon was very large, multicolored and very pretty.  I felt good with our efforts in the class and knew that Vapor had done his best for me, all things considered. It is important to remember that we don't always take 1st place. Sometimes everyone you are competing against is a national champion and you feel very out of place, but none of that matters as long as you feel good about what you have done. You alone understand your strengths. You know when you have done the best that you can do and that is good enough. 

I encourage everyone to utilize your "hairspray". Lean on family, friends and the Gospel to help you through the challenging times and be "hairspray" for someone else. Remember that confidence is key. Fake it until you make it and know that having faith in yourself is half the battle. When you do those things you will find that sometimes the last place ribbon really is the prettiest.