Читать книгу Geoff Teall on Riding Hunters, Jumpers and Equitation - Geoff Teall - Страница 72

The notion of a particular round counting more than another concerns some riders. “Why emphasize competition?” they wonder. “How will competing make me a better rider?”

Of course, competition is not necessary. One of its great merits, however, is that it gives you a fairly accurate way to gauge your own progress.

4.6 Competition allows you to see how you measure up against other riders, and against your own past performances.

I teach many students who never show. They just enjoy lessons and the process of learning. That is fine, but competing can help perfect skills that won’t bloom in a tamer environment.

Competition puts you in a situation that you did not create yourself. Other course designers are never going to build a course exactly as you would. They are not going to hold a horse show in exactly the same place you would normally ride. The ring won’t be exactly the same size as you are used to. When you are at home, doing your exercises and riding your courses, you will inevitably tend toward a particular, consistent pattern or program. Competition bumps you out of your comfort bubble.

If you only ride on your own, it is very easy to develop a slanted viewpoint. But, just attending an event—going somewhere else, doing things in a different way, jumping somebody else’s courses, competing against other people, and showing in front of different judges—introduces countless variables that will only help develop you as a rider.