If you want change, be a part of the change

When you want something to be better than it is right now, you must take action!

Things are never as good as they could be, and I hear people pointing out the problems with this thing or that place all the time. I can’t help but think, “So change it”, “Make one of your own”, or “Do something positive!”

My friends often say to me that they never doubt where I stand on a subject. They always know my opinion, and, although I’m sure it isn’t always a compliment, the truth is that if I do or don’t like something, I find a way to say it. It’s not always easy, but more often than not it brings an opportunity to make an experience better, clear the air or strengthens a relationship.

To make this more relevant to our sport, I think it is important we give feedback as competitors to our organizations, horse shows and trainers. If we want something to be different such as footing, schedules, support, and so on, we should give the right people the information they need to go forward and better yet we should offer to help them when we can!

I want to be clear at this point: I’m not suggesting that you should call your local horse show manager and tell them all the things you don’t like about their show. But I would say if there is something important to you that they could easily change, I think you should find a nice time and way to say something. Ask them if they're open to an idea, or ask whom you might talk to about an idea that could be a game changer. Equally if you love something they have done tell them that too, so they don’t unwittingly change that too, not knowing it was a great idea in the first place.

Another way to impact the world around you is to get more involved. Volunteer so your voice can be heard. If you think an organization could do something better offer to help maybe they are understaffed or under-supported and what they really need is help instead of disappointment behind closed doors. Without jumping in and helping, some great ideas will never get off the ground. And if you don’t have time to be a help to the change, then it may not be your thing to change after all.

All I’m saying is if you’re going to complain about something to your friends, you should also make the time to tell the person/owner/host what your experience was and that if you could offer some feedback that would be helpful for them, you would like to do so.