EWHA
English Western Horse Association
I thought it would be fun to try and write something whenever it pops in my head. It should be like a bad batch of popcorn! Feel free to email your thoughts to Adam@ewhaonline.com
Subjectivity- Just what does this mean?
So lately I've been pondering the idea of subjectivity and objectivity. It seems like, especially in the horse world, it is really hard to be objective. It's really hard to take off the "rose-colored glasses" and judge for ourselves how things really are. We work so hard to get these horses ready to show. The horses get bathed, groomed and loaded up into the trailer to the show. And then what happens? You walk into a ring to be judged by a single person. A person that never really tells you why they love your horse or why they hate it. Just a person. A person that doesn't necessarily have to judge you by a breed standard. I mean, it's an Open Show, right? So really, if that person judging wanted to, they could just pick whatever horse they liked based on their favorite color growing up. No explanation required. No, "well, I really like the way your horse is put together from nose to tail." Or, "Your horse really moves the way the breed says it should." So what happens? You walk away from that class either REALLY happy because you won the blue ribbon, or you walk away REALLY angry or sad that you DIDN'T win that blue ribbon. I mean, everything after first is not a win, right? (I don't tend to think that way.) And I am not suggesting that everyone does feel that way. In my opinion, the best thing you can do for yourself is find the positive every time you enter the ring. Be your own judge. Try to learn from the competition around you to make yourself and your horse better as a team. Just because you win doesn't necessarily mean that you had a winning ride. But try to keep a smile on your face, be a good winner and sport and then go back to work. To me, THAT is being objective. All we can do as an association is hire a judge. We cannot guarantee how a judge will work throughout the course of a day. Nor can we guarantee that a judge can work objectively. They are, after all, horse people, in and of themselves. Subjectivity is the hardest thing to set aside.
Sincerely,
Adam
Uh-oh! Adam is thinking too much again!
Recently a discussion took place on a "horse board" and it made me think. With gas prices going up, will we see an increase in numbers at our shows? Will those that were accustomed to showing at the breed level be looking for a closer place to go to enjoy their horse showing? Will we lose people that might not want better competition?
I think that we should all aspire to become better. If that means upping the competition, that's what we need. I hope we don't lose anyone, first and foremost. But I also hope that anyone that is looking to come to a fun, affordable circuit feels welcome. There are several circuits in our area that will most likely see new and tough competitors come in. EWHA, Holland Western, Kenowa Saddle-ites, and Red Flannel to name a few. For the sake of all of those circuits, I hope we all can welcome any and everyone with open arms and a lot of smiles and laughs.
So to wrap this up, if anyone EVER feels like they are not welcome, please come and talk to me directly. I am hoping that I will have already been by your trailer to say "hi" and possibly even make fun of myself. Please feel free to make fun of me as well!
Most sincerely,
Adam