I did my best to hide my frustration as I left the flat class, trailing out of the ring as my horse and I had just pinned last. It really wasn’t our day. We’d certainly had better, and I knew we were capable of more. It was a small horse show, so even coming in last meant I’d earned myself a ribbon. I begrudgingly held out my hand as the ring steward offered it to me, feigning a smile when she also quipped, “Congratulations.” The last thing I wanted was this ribbon and its reminder of my poor performance. I held onto it anyway on the short walk back to the barn.
I hid the ribbon away in my tack trunk for the rest of the weekend and did my best not to look at it. I didn’t think about it again until the show was nearly over. My horse stood in the communal wash stall as I finished cooling him out. A few stalls down lay a colorful pile of ribbons, the emblem of the horse show shining brightly against the wrinkled fabric. Someone had left a dozen ribbons behind on their way out of the show grounds. They didn’t want them. And they couldn’t even be bothered to give them back to the show office or at least properly toss them in the trash.
IMO.
I felt my cheeks flush with quick anger looking at the pile. I was reminded of how just a day before, I had wanted to throw away my ribbon, too. But I didn’t. I didn’t because that would be wholly disrespectful, to the horse show circuit and its organizers, to the judge and to myself. It’s an awful display of poor sportsmanship to leave ribbons behind like trash. Trainers, parents and friends should encourage all of us to be better. No matter the result at the end of the weekend, it’s important to walk away with some respect for yourself, your horse and the sport.
This hot take originally published in the Heels Down Spark in June 2021. Get more conversation starters in your inbox every weekday morning by subscribing to the Spark now.