Your Sky, Your Limit

As professional athletes in the world of equestrian we must push ourselves in short bursts, look back and acknowledge how far we have come, whilst challenging ourselves to take those extra steps. It’s about exceeding what we think are our limits but through both physical and mental strength, we prove otherwise. If we didn’t push our horses, and ourselves, we’d never get anywhere. Pippa Funnell would never have won the Rolex Grand Slam, John Whitaker would never have won 14 team medals and Michelle Payne would never have been the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup. Exceeding limits is a must in order to succeed.

Climbing 2518m above sea level seemed like a great idea the night before I was set to conquer Mount Taranaki however, as I rose from my bed at 4:45am the morning of, my body thought otherwise. Realising how big the mountain actually was, how unprepared I was, and how much uphill walking I had ahead, turning back seemed like a more enticing option. 18km of walking across all sorts of terrain, rock climbing, and crawling through scoria had me thinking. Thinking about the limits we push to make ourselves successful. Without this determination to conquer, what are we? There were definite moments where I thought giving up was tempting. Starring at how far I had to climb/crawl on a 75-degree angle was unbelievably daunting. Those on their way down would give comments of encouragement as they told us there was still TWO HOURS of climbing to go. “You’re nearly at the fun part”. My reply: “There is no ‘fun’ part.”

Yet pushing ourselves beyond our limits far outweigh the notion of giving up. Some of our greatest accomplishments to date can be defined by our capacity to push through great amounts of both physical and mental pain to achieve new heights. The same idea can be applied to the partnership between horse and rider.  We have the ability to push ourselves beyond what we think we can do. We just have to realise it. Feeling the exhaustion yet exhilaration when you finish a competition is worth so much more than the dissatisfaction of giving up.

Remember, you are greater…Far greater than you think you are.  Triumph is what we aim for, not defeat.