The Dressage of Life
From 2013 – 2018 I competed in the sport of Dressage with my horse, Purdee Cute Fool (nicknamed “Fool” since he was born on April 1st, 2000; see photo, page 2). If you are not familiar with Dressage, picture a rectangular arena 20 x 60 meters in size with white rails a foot above the ground and letters set around the perimeter of the ring. In the photo above, the horse and rider are outside of the ring, having passed one of the letter markers, going down the long side of the arena. When the horse and rider enter the ring, they complete a “dressage test,” which is written down on paper (like a list) and they complete different movements in the arena where the letters are. For example, trot at “C” or pick up right-lead canter between “A” and “K” or halt at “X.” A judge (or judges) score each movement of the test and the horse/rider combination receives a score at the end. The highest score wins the class.
During those competition years, for each class, invariably one of four things would happen:
1. I rode well and the results reflected that.
2. I thought I rode well, but the results didn’t reflect that.
3. I didn’t ride that well, and the results reflected that.
4. I didn’t think I rode well, but the results were higher than I expected.
Number 1 was always the best scenario. Numbers 2 and 3 led to disappointment. Number 4 was always a surprise and it was exciting when that happened!
The thing is, there were always things outside of my control. While I had copies of the dressage tests, the sport is subjective, and each judge is different. I couldn’t control that. I also couldn’t control how my fellow competitors rode. What I could do, was bring my best to the arena every time.
The word dressage means “training,” and it reminds me a lot of life. We can think of life as a training ground, or even a test. We enter the arena of life and there are different things we will need to do at different points in time. How well do we perform? Do we execute the right maneuvers at the right times? Do we ride our test well?
At times, we may know we nailed something, and the results reflect that. Other times, we may think we did well, but the results didn’t reflect that. Other times, we know we didn’t do that great and other times we may be surprised at how well we did. Gotta love it when that happens!
Like Dressage, life is subjective and there are things we cannot control. We can’t always control the outcome and we certainly can’t control what other people are doing. But we can control ourselves and what we bring to the arena of life. When I competed, my mindset was that the only one I was competing against was myself – to be better than I was the last time. That is what you can do as well; compete only against yourself, bringing your very best self to the arena of life.
What do you bring to compete in the arena of life?
Recommended Resources
- “Life is Like A Dressage Test” You Tube video (3:48) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nRaYVM43Pc
- Article by Olivia Towers – “Dressage Teaches Us So Many Good Life Lessons” - https://www.oliviatowersdressage.com/post/why-dressage-teaches-us-so-many-good-life-lessons
- Article by Revital Salomon – “Life Lessons I Learned From My Horse” - https://dressagelady.info/life-lessons-i-learned-from-my-horse/
Monthly Challenge
- Look up a diagram of a 20 x 60 Dressage arena and print it out.
- Write out some key events of your life where the letters are located.
- Inside the arena, write a list of what you bring to the arena of life.