why dont people seem to understand...?

i compete my horses, but i do it for fun, if you get what i mean. like my horses both really enjoy jumping and are good at it, so i take them to local shows and give them a whirl around and they love it. but i don't believe that people who just ride for leisure are any worse than people who compete. you said that you like riding your mustang up mountains and stuff, which proves you have a load of talent (i sure don't have the confidence to ride up a mountain, and also there are no mountains in london :P) and i've seen some truly awful riders at local shows, who think there amazing because they have an expensive show jacket. i compete for fun which means if my horse decides to stop dead and throw me into a wall i don't mind because i wasn't in it to win. what i hate most are the stuck up competers who think they are AMAZING when they're only okay and who shout and whip their horses around a course just so they can win a stupid rosette or like £10 at the most. but i don't just compete, more than anything i love to hack around the local forest for hours, or go for a canter through the fields, and me and my horses really enjoy that.

I ride horses just for fun and not for competition, and I think just hanging around with the horse is fun...

People sometimes compete because they like a challenge, or want to win some money, or just have a different type of riding...

ALthough I think i will just stick to riding for fun...

i compete because i love the feeling of rising to a challenge and showing how hard me and my horse have worked, and its a social thing, too. but i also love to go trail riding with my friends and just hanging out with my horse. i know a lot of people who ride but dont compete or compete very rarely, and they're just as good as everyone else. not everybody needs a judge to tell them how good they are, you know? i couldn't live without the adrenaline rush and all the fun that i have at horse shows, but i definitely understand where you're coming from.

=]

For some reason many people seem to think we all have to compete in every single thing we do. Riding for fun is great. Your best solution is to not talk to these competition hounds about riding. Just have fun, you and your horse.

some people love to compete, just like you love to ride up and down mountains. all of us find some type of fulfillment in our lives with horses. plus, i do like to show off when ive down alot of work with my horse, and show off what she can do. all showing is, is a whole different lifestyle then just having fun with our horse.

Are you being pushed by others into a competition? If not, why worry?

I can drive a car and I don't race cars. I'm sure there are some very good drivers out there and some bad ones. Just do what you enjoy.

If you were being pushed by others into a competition, just tell them to do it themselves or go and push someone who's more interested instead.

you can ride just for fun and even be better than people that compete at a high level i only ride for fun and love it.

just have fun with your horse.

That's your decision.

If people like to compete and have fun with their horses and seeing what their horses are like while competing, that's up to them.

I agree, I also don't like it when people feel they have to justify why they don't compete. I know people who have horses who they don't evem ride - I don't have a problem with this so long as the horse is well looked after.

:)

Do what you want to do...

I personally love to compete, but if u don't like it, them don't care about what other people say, just o what you want...