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Re: [RC] Enduring posts-nothing wrong with introspection! - gingerodgersWhen Lynne mentioned the two professions she loved that paid the most bills it inspired me to give my input on this subject. I have a job that I love and because of that the money follows. For those of you who think that making money has nothing to do with ridecamp, you are dead wrong. Endurance riding is an expensive sport. Endurance riders need to make some decent amount of money to afford time off, trailers, trucks, horses, gear, ride fees, the appropriate feed and, not to mention, keeping up with every day life. For those of you that wish you had more money but think that you never will, I have a quote for you: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!". For those of you that are making tons of money but are not happy, my advice to you is that you are only thinking about the money and not what you enjoy doing in life. Choose a profession that you love, work at it, and you will be happy. For those of you that are making tons of money and are happy, good for you. You have made the right decisions in life. I'm not a money monger. I work hard at a career that I love and it allows my family to do what they want when they want and that makes me happy. It takes money to participate in this sport. That is the simple fact. I'd say that covers it. Ginger ---- Lynne Glazer <anyone@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: You know, I've spent a bunch of years reading ridecamp, nearly from the beginning, and I don't remember reading anything about how much importance riders place on money. To me, despite the little bit of acrimony, it got me to pause and think about it. The only stuff I've seen about money here was about LQ trailers, the effect of the Emirates on endurance, but nothing about quality of life-stuff. [Stev, you can stop reading here] Even More Storms. Musing a bit, like others, I've strode (stridden? <g>) the corporate treadmill, then explored various levels of self-employment for 15 years, some that paid the (nearly) big bucks, and some that allowed me the freedom to take 3 day weekends EVERY weekend for 5 years--that decision to make less money and take more time off. Then a few years of 7 days a week adding two professions I loved to the one that paid most of the bills. And a year ago the biggest change of them all, from conventional living to that out on unimproved land, hauling water and running off of a generator for a while, just to be able to live with my horses instead of boarding. From three bathrooms, three floors to one, and daily responsibility for my three horses--no more staying late in town to avoid the traffic...instead limiting trips in to two days a week and taking the obvious income cut as a result, and building my photography business, working from my heart instead of my head. Am I riding more? Well, it was a heck of a transition. My faithful Rubberband has waited for me, and at coming-8 has turned into the kind of horse that can be pulled out of his corral on a moment's notice, and perform beautifully. Why I thought it wouldn't rain the day before yesterday, when it was predicted for the evening and the skies were gray--I even neglected to take wet weather gear. When the skies opened up 5 miles from home, he handled the adversity well--not being ridden in the rain-part, tres ordinaire, but being ridden by someone with incipient hypothermia from under-dressing! ;-) This year has allowed their feet to strengthen since first changing farriers 18 months ago, then a year of barefoot, Thursday's ride with three shod horses in the slippery stuff and some asphalt really reinforced my thought to give the EB Epics a shot first instead of shoes as his workload increases on our abrasive ground. I am so lucky to have two adults with practically self-maintaining feet that don't flare or crack. The baby seems to have equally good ones. Rah. Conditioning is now a priority again if it would just quit raining, as I stare out at the inch per hour rate it's doing now...I wouldn't trade the last year for anything--I learned a lot about myself, I learned how to conserve resources, enjoyed living closer to nature (as long as I had an Internet connection!) What would I do with that mythical million? I'd be on my own land, and not a buddy's--and in more of the boonies than I already am, maybe out of SoakedCal. Or I'd have a 4x4 instead of a 4x2 for that dirt road that turns to chocolate mousse with the water table constantly up so high--I'd have a bigger roof over my horses, or a three-sided run in shed in a pasture. Oh, and the few more bits of camera gear and computer. Share a bunch of it with others, which was fun in the past good times. Self-insure my horses and gear so I wouldn't waste so much money. The LQ trailer? Maybe fix up my 4h's dressing room with a bit of insulation and built-ins. In either case, with or without money, I'll be happy with continuing health, great critters, good friends and inspiring work. By the way, our trails have held up remarkably well despite 50+ inches of rain, from what I'm hearing about the rest of SoCal I should be very darn happy. Come on up and ride! Lynne dang, just out of propane; thank goodness for small electric heaters! Ain't getting outta here today... On Feb 19, 2005, at 11:40 AM, Chris Paus wrote:I tried to start a thread about training tips for horses and riders, as I'm getting a young mare ready for competition, but my post died for lack of interest... it's more fun to debate the same old crap ad nauseum, I guess. chris Steve Shaw <sshaw@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: What happened to ridecamp being about horses, rides, equipment and such? (Not including someone defending their lack or access to $$) Where is Steph when we need her? Stev=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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