Oh the joys of being an Amateur! Whilst some people may think being an amateur rider and having riding as your hobby is great, here’s 5 things which prove it’s much tougher than people think.
1.Being competitive is practically impossible
Seriously, how can we be expected to keep up with the pro’s?! Being competitive as a amateur rider is so hard. Working full time and having horses is practically impossible. We have no grooms, no full time trainers. It can be both physically and mentally tough.
2. One horse – no strings attached…
Unlike professionals who have a string of horses, most amateurs only have one horse. That one horse is what we put all of our time, money, and love into. If that all goes wrong it can be seriously hard hitting. We are left horse-less.
3.We are always last on the list
Whether it’s the farrier, the vet, the equestrian company, we are always second to professionals or those who have a string of horses. At times this can become very frustrating!
4. People think we do it for fun…
Well that’s kind of true, but just because we don’t do it all the time doesn’t meet that we are not as determined to win. We take our sport as amateurs very seriously.
5. We have no holidays.
As most of us work full-time we have limited holiday and most of our annual leave is put aside for attending horse shows. Of course though, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
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