Saturday, July 28, 2012

WINNING IS EVERYTHING...

Saying, "I knew her when!"
Gold, Silver, Bronze...  Team Medals and Individual Medals...  Medal Counts...  Who won...  the stories of triumph...  And do you remember the tag line...  "the Agony of Defeat"?  We'll hear it over and over again during the next two weeks... Media coverage will be relentless and, heroes will be born and others will be forgotten.  


In our world, we all know of That Girl... hungry for polyester and even more attuned to the bright colors of Blue, Red and maybe even Yellow.  She'll take the others but her thirst is the color blue.  It's a healthy thing to work hard and want to win...  Yup, nothing's wrong with that...  until the definition of Winning is purely defined by the receipt and color of cloth at the end of the day rather than the experience and joy of being out and about.


Her posse...
Winning is everything!  Never forget that... WINNING IS EVERYTHING!  And, what is most important, is how we each define Winning.  


That's right...  let me tell you a story about a girl...  She did not win the One Star at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships (NAJYRC) and her team did not get Gold, Silver or Bronze.  She came in fifth... double clear in both Cross Country and Stadium Jumping.   I read every report and every summary and I don't recall seeing her name in print.  She came in fifth...


What makes this kid newsworthy?  From nothing, she arrived...  Her family supports her with hard work and encouragement... I met her when she was 11 or 12 riding a 22 year old quarter horse.  I don't profess to know her story intimately, but I saw a kid get an OTTB and bring him along to compete in the NAJYRC - the Rolex of her generation with hard work, determination... maybe a bit of luck...  


She wins every day.  She is surrounded by a great group of barn mates... and her trainers are superb...  They put together this video telling a story more intimate than my own...  Watch it and really learn what Winning is all about!





Video compiled by Audrey Wey Reyler

Lucky Lucky them!

1 comment:

Amy said...

Love this! Not ashamed to say it made me cry. That's what i want my kids to become. Workers, strivers, horsepeople. People who know the value of effort and acieving something through effort.

Rock On Janelle and Ikey -- thank you for the inspiration.