I guess this can be said about any given thing.  I think it is more prevalent in sports of any kind.  You were a great football player in college, but what have you done lately.  You were great in your last play, movie, whatever, but what have you done lately?  Your last novel, six years ago, was great, but what have you done lately?  You get the picture.

It pretty much goes the same way with horses.  You were a great barrel racer in the 70’s.  You were a great rider or jumper in the 80’s……. but what have you done lately?  Fame is fleeting, ask any actor or actress.  You’ve got to keep getting roles in order to stay in the minds of the producers, directors, investors.  You’ve got to stay in the ring and keep winning in order to stay on top of things.  You have to know what the judges are looking for.  You have to know what the new trends are in tack and clothing.

This to me is ridiculous.  Either you can ride or you can’t.  I don’t care if you come naked on a moose (love that line from our old Huntsman John Clendenin speaking of a landowner who wanted to hunt in a Western saddle), if you can do the course the best out of everyone, you’re the winner.  Not how much you paid for you breeches.

So what’s the answer?  Well let’s look at it from both angles.

Yes it does matter what you have done lately.  You need to know what is going on out there in order to compete at the top levels.  You go to shows and see who’s winning.  Those are the trainers you want to work with.  Just make sure their philosophies match yours.  Beating a horse to win, or pushing a sore horse is not how you want to succeed.

But don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.  If you have great knowledge about the basics and solid foundations of horses and riding, you are very valuable.  It doesn’t matter what the new trends are, or the new fashions.  Safe solid riding never changes.  Sometimes the older Horse Master has a lot more knowledge than the new kid on the block.

I’ve heard of so many people lately, who have been totally ripped off by, those they perceive to be top trainers, it makes me sick.  I’ve already forgotten stuff that these young “want to be’s” haven’t even learned yet.

People who have been in the business for years know more than they can even believe.  Just may take a little jog in their memory to be reminded.  Sometimes I’ll say, Oh Yeah, I dealt with that back in the 60’s.  Many people look at you like “you were alive back then?”  I had that happen the other day.  I was having some clipper blades sharpened and some body clippers checked.  When the man handed them to me, I lovingly looked at my clippers and said I had bought them in the late 60’s.  He just stopped and looked at me.  He couldn’t believe they were that old.  I would have liked it better if he said that he couldn’t believe that I was that old, but, oh well.  They still work and so do I.  the clippers are fine, some days I work better than others.

So my bottom line is yes, what have you done lately, but also, what have you done in the past that brought you to where you are today.  Experiences are like notches in a gun handle (is anybody out there old enough to remember the old westerns?  Notches?  Gun handle?)  Anyway they are like scars, each one comes with a story and are badges of honor from days gone by.  We remember them, and treasure them.  And hopefully pass them on.

We don’t forget, just sometimes we don’t remember right away.

I’m not getting older.  I’m like fine wine, just getting better all the time.  Now if I could just remember what I was going to do next I’d be in great shape.

Have a week that was better than last, and not as good as it’s going to be next week!