I love being able to do ‘non-horsey’ things. I really enjoy the outdoors, I enjoy having varied experiences, trying new things and just generally having fun. Horses have allowed me to experience so many things, taken me to places I would have never been otherwise and have shaped my entire life. But they have also limited me, time available to socialise, time and money for other activities, the responsibility of their care means that spontaneous trips away are difficult.
I wouldn’t change my life. I love my horses. But every now and again I wonder what it would have been like without them. I feel I have two conflicting wishes. Not doing FEI over the past 4 years has meant I haven’t had to do as intensive training, which has freed up a lot of time for mountain biking, surfing, climbing, camping, hiking, painting, eating out…. the list goes on. My first wish is to race at FEI level again, my second is to spend more time on non-horsey pursuits. Are they mutually exlusive, no I dont think so, however, I think to really achieve both I can’t have a string of horses, at most two competing and still have time (and the money) for other hobbies.
So although to race successfully at FEI I would be more likely to achieve this goal by having multiple horses and dedicating all my time to their training, I feel I am compromising this dream by putting time and energy into other things that make me happy. In theory I would say this is better balance and would result in better mental health, but I also don’t want to look back and regret not giving it 100%. I guess it will all come down to acceptance, balance, figuiring out what my priorities are and being confident in executing them.
Beth Endurance 