Daring greatly and entering the arena

I recently finished reading the book called "Daring Greatly" by Brené Brown. For those of you who haven't read it, I highly recommend it. She concludes the book with this quote:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs; who comes short again and again,

because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;

who at the best knows in the end the triumph of the high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly...."

-Theodore Roosevelt

The most difficult mental training a rider must go through is getting past those self-doubts every single time they set foot in the arena. "Am I good enough?", "Is it too big?", "What if I fall off?", and the litany could go on and on. Each doubt as individual as the rider and horse. Every day a new one arises.  Succumbing to those doubts almost inevitably results in disaster. Perhaps it was going off course, or that long walk of shame when your horse dumps you as far away from the in-gate as possible, before bolting loose around the facility and causing a scene. That one is always a show stopper.

What brings us back to that in-gate to try, try again? Is it that sense of competition? Is it parental pressure? Is it just because your friend is doing it, so you had to as well? 

Or is it that all consuming passion? That drive for excellence that is so fleeting, near impossible in our sport? Just when you feel as though you've moved up, accomplished something, there's always another curve, another step back. The never-ending lessons provided by show jumping can be tough. It is not for the faint hearted. It can cause the less driven to quit and seek something easier. It can cause the pleasure riders to plateau and play it safe. But for the driven, it only inspires. Failure is not a pleasant experience. It is humbling. It can be embarrassing. But, it can also be enlightening. And maybe, just maybe, it will push you to that next level that you didn't know existed. The ability to dare greatly. To be in the arena striving valiantly. To come up short again and again. Because the credit does go to those that are actually in the arena; those fighting their own self-doubts, their own weaknesses, their own inability. Those that are persevering.

I think Calvin Coolidge stated it best when he said, "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent."

To those of you in that arena, wherever it may be, I applaud you. And if you should fail, at least you failed while daring greatly.