EC Blog – Be Pushable

Be Pushable – An EC Blog By Jessica Strott

 

Be pushable.

If you are an athlete, or heck, even someone with any kind of goal, be pushable.

As a trainer, coachability and humility are two of my favorite traits a student can possess. Pair those with work ethic, and you have an unbeatable mixture for success. But more and more, I’m seeing that those tend to be elusive qualities. There are reasons for this. Entitlement. Helicopter parents. Wanting instant gratification. Or just the classic oldie but goodie: laziness.

I teach riders with all sorts of different goals, and what the goal is does not matter to me. I will do my best to help you win at the horse show, or I will do my best to help you become better with basic horsemanship and equitation so that you can be the safest trail rider on the mountain. However, if you have lofty goals, you better have lofty work ethic.

You need to be pushable.

If a trainer asks for more and is met with resistance, then for what are you even using one? I have witnessed riders flat out ignoring me, not listening until I say it 17 times, “trying” (but not actually), crying, whining, making excuses, blaming the horse… Basically avoiding responsibility for the situation. Growing up taking lessons, I wanted to be pushed. I wanted to grow as a rider. Little did I know then how much that was helping me and my lesson mates grow as a human too.

Riding is scary sometimes. It is hard physically and mentally. It requires discomfort. But being pushable means being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Accepting that growth isn’t comfortable. Stagnation is comfortable.

Coming back from my concussion a couple years ago left me with an almost paralyzing fear. But I have pushed through worry and discomfort to finally have a small sense of security on a horse again. I have done the work until I thought my legs might fall off. I have cried, sweated, cursed, and celebrated. I have erased doubt with tiny accumulations of “oh wait, I didn’t die! I DID IT!” moments.

If you are an athlete, be pushable. Be coachable. Dig deep, find your grit, and rally. Talk less. Listen more. Go into challenges instead of avoiding them. Understand it’s a SPORT, meaning your muscles will be tired. Your lungs will feel empty at times. You will be sore. You will grow.

 

But not unless you are pushable.

 

Thank you to Trainer Jessica Strott for allowing us to share this very popular, heartfelt post from social media! If you have a blog you’d like to have considered for our website, please email Delores.Kuhlwein@EquineChronicle.com.