Good Sportsmanship Makes for Good Fun and Good Learning

Over Veteran’s Day weekend, I volunteered at a local combined driving event hosted by the Houston Area Carriage Association (HACA). It was a wonderfully refreshing experience, as everyone was so welcoming and genuinely supportive of each other.  I can’t emphasize enough how important this kind of sportsmanlike competition is for sharpening your skills and becoming more engaged in your chosen discipline.

Let’s face it, we’ve all been to horse shows where we haven’t achieved what we were hoping to.  Judges can make all the difference in the lessons you take away from your event. From my own experiences as both a competitor and occasionally as a judge, I would ask judges to please share your thoughts and constructive feedback, especially with those in novice classes, so they can improve their performance. I’ve been to some shows where competitors who scored last in the class were disheartened because the judge wasn’t open to sharing what specifically was needed to improve. This doesn’t help the competitor, and could even lead to fewer participants at the show in the future.

A sense of humor is also much appreciated!  I was once competing at a Burghley Young Event Horse show. During the dressage phase, as I was cantering across the diagonal to change reins, my horse suddenly exploded into a bucking fit. The judge definitely showed a sense of humor as she commented that the canter was “a little exuberant.” Her sense of humor made me smile, despite finishing last in the class.

Whether the judges give good feedback or not, it’s imperative that we accept their scoring and comments gracefully and with good sportsmanship. Unfortunately, I’ve sometimes witnessed competitors and parents verbally attacking the judge because they didn’t get the results they wanted. This kind of behavior can cause the judge to shut down the conversation, which is an opportunity missed to increase your knowledge and grow as an equestrian.

And finally, let’s remember that no event can happen without the stewards and volunteers!  They work hard to organize the event, set up the grounds, run the competition, and clean up afterward. Without a doubt, every single competitor at the HACA event thanked me for my time as a volunteer.

HACA’s competition last weekend was a shining example of a fun, welcoming event where everyone had the opportunity to learn from each other. I’ll definitely go back again, hopefully as a competitor!

See also:

The Secret Ingredient to Effective Training: Fun!

First Driving Lesson: Fun in the Cones