Endurance Introspection
"To Finish Is To Win"Welcome to Endurance Introspection — a website for new, old, aspiring and contemplative endurance riders
About the Site
Authored by Patti Carey (formerly Patti Stedman), Endurance Introspection is a website for endurance riders, aspiring endurance riders and other sport horse enthusiasts interested in the cross-training aspect of endurance conditioning and training for horses. Patti’s vision for the website is to provide a place for endurance riding enthusiasts interested in the philosophies, training, conditioning strategies and life lessons learned during the act of enduring.
Patti is an AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference) endurance competitor/Ride Manager/former BoD member who truly embraces the sport’s motto of “To Finish Is To Win”.
About Patti
Patti was raised in rural Western New York. She started riding at the age of seven and eventually showing in various disciplines, until she discovered dressage (the art of riding and training a horse in a manner that develops obedience, flexibility, and balance.) in her late teens. She attended Cornell University and received her BS in Animal Science.
While she taught and trained professionally for a few years, it became apparent that a career outside of horses allowed more financial security (and that wackily practical health insurance), so her love of teaching took her in the direction of occupational safety and environmental compliance. She owns two successful businesses, one providing live training and consulting, and the other providing web-based safety training.
Patti began to compete in endurance rides in the mid 1990s. A couple of decades and a few thousand miles of competition later, she has acted as a Ride Manager for the Allegany Shut Up and Ride and was formerly a member of the AERC Board of Directors, Ride Managers’ Committee, and Education Committee. She developed materials for and insurance coverage for AERC Endurance 101 Clinics and has taught dozens of clinics, and encourages others to do the same to give riders new to our sport the skills needed to succeed and a sense of community with other local endurance riders and mentors.
Her passion for sharing her sport led her to creating a web-based course for new and aspiring endurance riders, Endurance Essentials, which can be found at horselearningonline.com
Patti loves combining the disciplines of endurance and dressage, and observing and writing about the inside world of endurance riding competition. Patti currently lives in rural South Carolina, with her horses, dogs, cats and various vermin.
Header photo by Carien Schippers @imagequine
Flip charts, QR Codes and the In-Between Magic
A few weeks ago, I was purchasing pink baby Carhartt overalls at Tractor Supply when the cashier asked if they were for my grandchild. My first instinct was to be insulted. This lasted about 7 milliseconds while I reminded myself that while I still looked forward to...
Windshield Time
My Dad, bless him, has been a powerful influence in my life. He taught me to drive, and I marvel at his patience and self-control, thinking back on it. I was apparently unaware that one should slow down prior to making a turn. If it was possible for a Ford LTD station...
The Sisyphus of Normal and Just Being Sam
It’s been a hot minute since I sat down to actually write a shitty first draft. I wrote a piece about using my humor as a self-defense mechanism, which in turn was me using my humor as a self defense mechanism. I stuck a pin in that. We didn’t publish it. Not...
Throwing Boulders and Chipping Away at It
It was a few months ago, sitting in bed over coffee -- right in the thick of so much change that it felt a bit like living in the eye of a hurricane -- that I mentioned this study to Tom about the Holmes Rahe Stressor Scale. I was laughing....
Check box. Live life. Cancer.
From Sam through Patti... I have breast cancer. There, I said it. I never thought something like this would ever happen to me. I eat mostly healthy, I exercise, I don’t smoke, and I have a social drink. I’ve never really had any health issues my whole life to...
Chemotherapy and Speed Bumps
I don't think I remember exactly when or where I met Sam. Sixteen or seventeen years ago? Is it possible it was that long ago? It was at an endurance ride, of that I'm sure. She reminded me of my mom, my birth mom, long gone, but whenever I meet a woman who...
#Enough is Enough!
Letter sent this morning to AERC Board of Directors. [Edited to add: Written, not by me, but a group of concerned members.] If you are a member and you agree with the sentiments in this letter and the members who signed it, it is not enough to hit "like" on Facebook,...
Contemplating the Realities of 50
(Feature photo by Tre Wheway.) I'm not talking about the fifty-mile distance, I'm talking about the half-century mark of longevity, the hallmark birthday when the AARP begins to send you postcards, the age at which (I read and now believe, based on a one-rat self...
Today, I sent an email to the AERC BoD …
[If you are an AERC member and would like to voice an opinion on this topic, here's a link to email your BoD members. Please note that most of them do not read or participate on Facebook, so while such discussions may be gratifying and allow you to vent your spleen or...
Again for the 2019 AERC Season! 20% Off Endurance Essentials for GBE Members!
I suspect that I'm not alone, particularly amongst endurance riders in parts of the world where the return of winter means a contemplative time. The days are short, the holidays press obligations other than riding, and for us, the snow flies. It means that the weeks...
The Endurance “Green Bean” Movement — an evolution!
[Featured image by Jacke Reynolds, one of the Green Bean's early leaders. Thank you.] I'm the first to admit that I was primarily a sidelines spectator and cheerleader for the Green Bean movement in endurance riding. Like most movements, it was started by a small...
Iggy is a Millennial — and other anthropomorphic theories
[Warning: This blog is full of smarm and stereotypes. I won't apologize for that because, as those who know me in real life would likely confess, I am a wee bit cheeky that way.] A week or so ago I found myself with a day with no client meetings and a forecast that...