I've Got the Blues

I am sore and tired from getting bucked off last weekend.  The school year is winding down which is sucking an excessive amount of mental and emotional energy.  And not that he can help it, but the new puppy is also siphoning off his share of my available resources.  My disappointing scores from the weekend's show are also jerking me around a little and making me feel a bit like a failure.  It's no wonder that my enthusiasm for riding has taken a big hit.

I made it to the barn last Sunday after the show, but I was so sore and battered that all I did was some turn out.  I skipped Monday and Tuesday's visits and only showed up on Wednesday to do more turnout and barn chores.  It was good to see my boys, but I was still so sore that there was no way I could pop up for a ride.  I even cancelled my regular Wednesday lesson.

I am not one to celebrate other's failures, but when I see people that I respect have off days, it makes my own disappointments seem less ... well, disappointing.  So I looked up an acquaintance on Center Line Scores to see how she had performed when doing the Training Level tests. 

Center Line Scores is an unofficial site (not USDF sponsored) that tracks riders' scores from USDF-rated shows, Training Level and above. Here are her scores so that you can see what I mean.  It's interesting to see that she spent a lot of time riding the fourth test at First Level (the old tests).

Here are my own very limited results.  Remember that Center Line Scores only tracks results from USDF shows and from only Training Level and up.  That means my Introductory scores aren't included in the data which leaves only the scores from the Santa Barbara show.  In a few weeks, I hope to see my scores from this past weekend's results there, too.  My median will drop, but that's just an incentive to work harder!

This sounds absolutely horrible, but her scores were very similar to mine, if not lower.  Maybe there's hope for me yet!  Please, please, please don't think that I think I am better than anyone else or that I need to make myself feel better by one-uping someone.  It's not like that at all.  Instead, this comparison shows me that even very accomplished riders started somewhere.  They too deal with disappointing days, but then continue on.

I hope that in a few years my data will look similar to this more advanced rider.  There will be some disappointing scores I am sure, but there will also be some high scores that will make me smile - I hope.