Every day riders are faced with decisions that test their moral fortitude. The temptation to push the limits increases with competition. The more variables surrounding the game the easier it is to manipulate the situation increasing the pressure to abandon your principles – especially if you feel like “everyone else is doing it.”

Author and mom Kate Lambert talks about the negative affects of believing the myth that all the winners are cheaters on her blog www.uptownsheep.com If You Thought it was About Cheating You Need to Read Again. Whether a false assumption or the truth believing that others are cheating may tempt you to forsake your principles to achieve your goals.

And no doubt about it, everyone who has ever shown or trained horses has, at one time or another, stretched the boundaries. There are times when a rider simply must push – partly to determine whether resistance from the horse is due to pain, lack of knowledge or a side effect of simple arrogance and sometimes, just to make the point. Continue reading →