School is letting out all around the country. All around the country, conversations lean towards one topic; summer break. As a student myself, I listened to the conversations and laughed to myself as I realized how much different my summer would be from everyone else's thanks to being an equestrian. Riders all around the country can agree with me that our summers tend to be more stressful than a school year. Don't believe me? Here are seven ways an equestrian's summer differs from a normal person's summer.
1. "I can't wait to be able to sleep in all summer!" said no equestrian ever.
Summer is prime show season time, which means long days at the barn. The horses need feeding, stalls need cleaning, and riding needs to be done in order to maintain all of the things you had worked on over the winter. As well, the weekends, when shows normally take place, start with waking up at 4 AM and not going to sleep until 1 AM. Our secret to survival? Caffeine.
2. Concerts tickets or entry fees?
Your favorite band is coming to town a week before a show and the concert tickets are *staggers* $80. That cuts into the money you had allotted for entry fees. So the question is, pay the $80 for a once in a lifetime experience of you breathing the same air as your favorite band OR don't go to the concert and save your money for a chance to earn an $.85 ribbon with a horse who may or may not want to cooperate with you? We all know the obvious answer here. Show fees.
3. "I want to work on my tan,"
While most girls are focused on maintaining their perfect bronzed glow by soaking in the sun's rays, equestrians groan at the thought of tanning because they only tan we acquire is a nasty farmer's tan paired with a glove tan line. At least once, we've tried to even it out by self-tanner or tanning in a tanning bed, but we usually end up looking worse than we would have if we just left the farmer's tan.
4. What social life?
In between a rigorous schedule of shows, practicing at the barn, and then having a real life job, a social life is more of an afterthought. I mean sure, hanging out with the people at the barn counts, right? But to those of our friends who aren't exactly horsey, good luck fitting into our schedules.
5. Getting us into public can be a rather embarrassing experience.
Summer for an equestrian means go full out horse-mode, which also means we sometimes neglect to practice our social skills. So for the one moment that our schedule allows for us to go into the real world and *gulps* socialize, It can be so awkward. Don't believe me? I once introduced myself to someone as "Hungry".
6. Vacations?
Enough said.
7. An equestrian's whole summer is dictated by an animal.
The horse is essential to an equestrian's summer; in fact, the horse basically rules an equestrian's summer. One might have plans to hang around humans for a day, but if the horse decides to feign a belly ache for attention, you best believe the equestrian will ditch all plans to be with her horse. The horse basically holds all the cards for the entire summer. Does that sound like a normal person's summer?
