Never. Chase. Points.

In my "welcome back to riding" post from the other day,  I mentioned that I won't be likely to point-chase on Mo, in part because of who he is (a baby still, thrives from having a break, stresses out when he feels too pressured--things that may change when he is a grown up, but that's the horse I have today). And in one of my over-used parantheticals, I issued my decree: NEVER CHASE POINTS. Lauren asked me to elaborate.

I don't have any pics for this post, so here are some critters I love.

 This is Duchess.

 It's not as though point-chasing has never occurred to me. I love horse showing. LOVE. If I had the budget, I would live at horse shows and compete as much as possible. I thrive on the environment, I'm competitive but not to the point that I MUST win, and I love seeing beautiful horses and tack and riders all spit-shined and ready to rock it.

Almost ready for his show career.

 But perhaps I need to back up a second. Let's remember that I'm a jumper rider in my heart of hearts. That has two implications: 1. I don't really know a lot about points in any other discipline, though I have to assume that the set-ups are somewhat similar.  2. The way we try to win any given class is different than how other folks try to win. (NOTE: I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT DRUGGING HERE. Topic for a different day.) When dressage folks and hunters try to win, they're putting in their best test that day, and it is subjectively measured. Of course, dressage horses and show hunters are athletes, and in addition to elegance, they must be accurate and powerful. But I think in those two disciplines, riders are going to be at least somewhat less likely to make the horse absolutely crazy in one class, as jumper riders trying to beat the clock can do. Eventers lie somewhere in the middle, as they must start with a dressage score, but they can of course push the horse very hard over fences if they're trying to win.

I miss my Lexi.

 So here's my philosophy on winning, as a jumper rider and former eventer: Don't try.

Okay, what I really mean is, don't try 95%-ish of the time. I will try to win when these three, and all of these three, conditions are met: 1. It is a money class (which I haven't ridden in in a LONG time, having been horseless for a good seven years and in greenie world for the last few); 2. I'm actually positioned to win if I do things right (meaning there aren't 15 other horses in the jump off who could easily kick my ass); 3. Trying to win will not result in frying my horse's brain; in other words, he can cope with the pressure.

This horse's brain fries at the slightest provocation.

That does not mean that I don't care about pulling rails or time faults, because I REALLY DO. I always prepare to ride clean and inside the time, and I typically pull that off. And sometimes I win because other people made more mistakes than I did that day. And sometimes I don't win even though the horse's performance put me over the moon with happiness. It doesn't matter. It's not worth trying to win, because it isn't worth galloping recklessly around a course and taking huge risks that could demoralize or fluster my horse or get one of us hurt. And I know y'all know what I mean, you've seen plenty of those riders.

Another nutty horse I used to ride. She's an eventer now.

Those kinds of "I have to win this 3'6" jumper class!!!!" rounds just kill me, because they violate the first rule of horsemanship: The horse always comes first. Always. Always.

Now, don't get me wrong, I make rider errors that piss the horse off or confuse him or whatever, as do we all. I'm not saying "be perfect or don't ride." I'm saying that don't throw your education and horse sense to the wind the minute you get your sights set on a blue ribbon.

Ella wants all the points if points = toys.

Further, there are entire horse shows that I won't go to because I don't think it's worth it if you AREN'T going to be competitive (Upperville, for instance, which is less than an hour from my house and I have a really nice show jumper, but we won't be going, because he is not an Upperville horse and I haven't shown in a good 18 months). That doesn't mean YOU shouldn't. If you want to do Dressage at Devon just because and you know you're not going to win anyway, that's fine. I just don't, because I don't have any real money, and that's just how I've organized my life.

Back when I was pretending to be a dressage rider, double bridle and all.
This horse wasn't gonna win any year-end awards, as he reared in half his tests.
Still got his rider a silver medal, though.

So if you draw the line from "don't try to win" to "never chase points," you see that it's quite direct. I can't chase points if I'm not trying to win. And I can't chase points if there are some horse shows I'm not going to go to. Points require being in the ring A LOT. That's great! I love being in the ring a lot. But it means being in the ring a lot on the same horse, and here's the thing: not all horses can or should handle that. And even if they can--if you're getting near the high point award on your horse, and you decide to chase points, remember that someone could likely outspend you by going to shows on your circuit that you can't afford to go to, can't get the time off work or it just isn't in the budget, and all of a sudden you've outspent your means and maybe worn out your horse (and perhaps yourself) and... you're not in the top.

Do points = peppermintses?

So. There you have it. That's why I don't chase points. That doesn't mean you shouldn't, and if you get a high point award, you will receive my hearty and sincere congratulations, because I trust that we are all doing our best to make good decisions for ourselves and our horses.

Forget points. Chase naps.