Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk

Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk

For three decades I’ve been in the business of sharing insights and principles of horsemanship. These guiding principles help me as I help horses be the best they can be. I also compete in the National Reined Cow Horse Association. Like everyone else, when I compete, I want to win. When I step into the arena, my goal is to show my horse to the best of our ability and hopefully rise above the other competitors.

Now it gets tricky. I have principles and I have goals. The challenge is to not let my personal goals of competitive success get ahead of my horsemanship principles that I teach and try to exemplify. Do I allow the pressure of the event or my own desires for success get ahead of my principles? I hope not. This is a question that I need to continually ask myself. Living a life of consistency in and out of the arena is not always easy. I want to make sure that I don’t only talk the talk, but that I “walk the walk.”

Belt buckles and trophy saddles come and go. In the end they really don’t mean all that much. Working with horses and living a life of consistent integrity – now that’s a win!

Richard Winters

The Thacher School

Horse Department Director