#chipshappen
I had someone tell me recently that I should write a blog about chips. Sadly, this was based solely on the fact that we seem to have a dill pickle chip obsession at the barn. So much so that we're planning a blind taste test at some point to choose the best brand of dill pickle chips. With all that in mind, bear with me and I'll somehow relate my recent trip to Ireland, potatoes, life and dill pickle chips into one blog.
Ireland is beautiful. For those of you who haven't been before, I highly recommend it. It's green, has gorgeous views, very friendly people and plenty of potatoes. One of the first questions I was asked upon my arrival home was if I'd eaten my share of potatoes on the trip. I can't say that I did, but the fish and chips were very good.
The highlight of the whole trip for me was watching the pony jumpers at the Royal Dublin Horse Show. I've always been a pony kid at heart (okay, really I'm still the size of one), and took great delight in watching those kids. They're absolutely fearless. You could tell they'd put up with enough sass already. The few ponies that had the audacity to stop at a fence would promptly grab the bit with their teeth and leave in the opposite direction, clearly expecting a good spanking. And sure enough, once the kids recovered, they would give the pony a good whack and take another run at the jump. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Let's talk about running for a second. Forget what a good gallop looks like with a professional rider. These kids just simply ran the legs off their ponies. It was a sight I'll never forget.
When did we forget that we were once pony kids at heart? I used to run my ponies bareback through fields with no helmet, and definitely no cell phone, till they didn't want to run anymore. That's how they got broke. Somewhere along the way we've confined our horses, and ourselves, to four walls and a fence. Anything to make sure our horses don't get away from us. It's no wonder that so many horses need to be prepped these days. I think if we got them out of their four walls and ran them, they'd probably realize it's not fun to work that hard. It would probably get them a lot quieter a lot quicker.
Getting out of the comfort zone, both horse and rider, is really what gets us from good to great. When did this fear of making mistakes get us so stuck in a box? I'm including myself in this. I'm only "slightly" OCD when it comes to finding a distance. I like creating them too much. Eventually you have to let go of that and run a little. What's the worst that can happen? Some of the best riders epically miss during a big class. It goes with the territory. But they're up they're kicking and getting out of the box. Chips happen. It would be nice if we all could applaud someone who took a run and missed trying, instead of snickering amongst ourselves that they "missed".
If that's the case, one simply goes home to regroup, run a little harder, and maybe, just maybe, sit down and eat that whole bag of chips (President's Choice Loads of Creamy Dill) to replenish all of the sodium we lost while sweating it out.
Ireland is beautiful. For those of you who haven't been before, I highly recommend it. It's green, has gorgeous views, very friendly people and plenty of potatoes. One of the first questions I was asked upon my arrival home was if I'd eaten my share of potatoes on the trip. I can't say that I did, but the fish and chips were very good.
The highlight of the whole trip for me was watching the pony jumpers at the Royal Dublin Horse Show. I've always been a pony kid at heart (okay, really I'm still the size of one), and took great delight in watching those kids. They're absolutely fearless. You could tell they'd put up with enough sass already. The few ponies that had the audacity to stop at a fence would promptly grab the bit with their teeth and leave in the opposite direction, clearly expecting a good spanking. And sure enough, once the kids recovered, they would give the pony a good whack and take another run at the jump. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Let's talk about running for a second. Forget what a good gallop looks like with a professional rider. These kids just simply ran the legs off their ponies. It was a sight I'll never forget.
When did we forget that we were once pony kids at heart? I used to run my ponies bareback through fields with no helmet, and definitely no cell phone, till they didn't want to run anymore. That's how they got broke. Somewhere along the way we've confined our horses, and ourselves, to four walls and a fence. Anything to make sure our horses don't get away from us. It's no wonder that so many horses need to be prepped these days. I think if we got them out of their four walls and ran them, they'd probably realize it's not fun to work that hard. It would probably get them a lot quieter a lot quicker.
Getting out of the comfort zone, both horse and rider, is really what gets us from good to great. When did this fear of making mistakes get us so stuck in a box? I'm including myself in this. I'm only "slightly" OCD when it comes to finding a distance. I like creating them too much. Eventually you have to let go of that and run a little. What's the worst that can happen? Some of the best riders epically miss during a big class. It goes with the territory. But they're up they're kicking and getting out of the box. Chips happen. It would be nice if we all could applaud someone who took a run and missed trying, instead of snickering amongst ourselves that they "missed".
If that's the case, one simply goes home to regroup, run a little harder, and maybe, just maybe, sit down and eat that whole bag of chips (President's Choice Loads of Creamy Dill) to replenish all of the sodium we lost while sweating it out.
Thanks for your thougts on the uncomplicated joys of horses and potato chips!
ReplyDeleteChips and dip are one of my favourite food groups!!
I remember being in a competition years ago and, along with other riders in the final day Grand Prix, I was asked to fill out a bio for the broadcast station hosting the event. Mine was completed in 5 minutes- what can I say, I was too busy watching and learning to answer questions like "What inspires you?" - my answer was watching and learning!!!
One of the questions was "What could you not live without?" I recall one rider drawing pictures and graphs in detail to answer, another required another page to complete the question. My answer was chips and dip - there done!
I didn't win the class, I can't recall if I placed (guaranteed I chipped one), but I was very happy with my horse. I do remember that after I hosed myself and my horse off, wrapped his legs and gave him a good rub down, that then I sat on the grass drinking a beer and eating a bag of chips while he grazed at the end of the lead rope, that part I remember clearly with so much joy! #uncomplicated #plainchipshappeneveryday
Larissa Z
Love it! Thank you for reading my blog :)
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