I recently read a quote about how obsessed with numbers we have become.
Our culture, obsessed with numbers, has given us the idea that what we can measure is more important than what we can’t measure……it means that we make quantity more important than quality.
Donella Meadows
I immediately thought about how this is true in my sport of dressage. We are scored with a number from 1-10 for each movement in the tests we ride in competition. At the end we get a score. If you are trying to qualify for a team to represent your country in the Olympics or World Equestrian Championships then that number could mean you make the team or do not make the team. At the World Equestrian Games in 2018 the scores were visible on the sides of the ring for each movement.
But what about an amateur rider such as myself who is not trying to make a team? Those numbers can reflect what I think is true or maybe not. If I get a low score on a movement I know I did not do well or made a mistake on then I will agree with the number. But if it’s low and I think I did not do the movement badly then what should I think?
Over the years I have learned to let the numbers in dressage go. It is the judges opinion and they were not riding my horse on that day so there is no point being upset for more than 45 seconds about the score.
The photo above and below are of jumbotron from the Dressage at the FEI World Equestrian Games Tryon NC 2018
What about you? How do numbers affect you?
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