31/12/2025
Your social media feed is full of everyone’s 2025 achievements, highlights, and best moments. It’s easy to feel the urge to compare yourself and your achievements to others’. But right now—when you’re setting your goals for 2026 and deciding where to put your focus—it’s more important than ever to remember:
Find goals that matter to YOU.
External goals are easy to see, measure, and brag about. They’re your medals, placings, and titles.
Internal goals are often hard to see from the outside, but they’re the most important ones. Getting into the arena without fear. Finally nailing that flying lead change in a Horsemanship class. Your first run without penalties. A horse that stays relaxed at a show.
Without internal goals, titles and achievements can feel empty. Amazing in the moment—but once you’re home, the void creeps in, and sometimes you feel like you’re not enough. Internal goals can’t be seen or compared. Only you know when you’ve truly succeeded.
You can share the goals that really matter to you with your trainer, barn friend, horse show bestie, or even on social media if you feel like it. They will understand how big that moment is for you—and they’ll cheer you on.
2026 can be the year you build the habit of focusing on internal goals first, then layering external goals on top. That’s the recipe for happy, long-lasting, and successful careers in the show pen.
Let this also be a reminder that we never truly know another rider’s journey. For some, a championship title is the next big step. Others may be dealing with injuries or setbacks and are simply happy to make it into the show pen. Be kind and supportive of your peers—it helps our sport grow and creates a friendlier environment 🙏❤️
May you have a happy New Year. I hope you achieve the goals that matter most to you. ✨
Dora 💞
#2026
