Social Time

In the vein of "helpful hints", I think it's time to address the most common pit-fall that amateurs often unwittingly find themselves falling into- I'm talking about when social time overtakes riding time. You've seen those riders sitting on the rail chit-chatting, (you may have even been one of them) ride a lap or two, then stop and talk for awhile again. That's all well and good, but you're not doing a single favor to yourself or your horse.
Wait!, you say. I pay a lot of money to go to horse shows. They are my "getaway". This is what I work for. I would nod and agree. You are right- you do. You certainly deserve the time to catch up with old friends. However, consider this- 1) You are simply teaching your horse that when they see a group of people they get to stop. 2) You've spent a LOT of money to get to that show to COMPETE. {if it's a vacation you want- there are a lot of differant places you could go that are cheaper and less labor intensive} If you aren't there 100% for your horse when you are riding, your horse won't be there 100% for you. When you sit and chat you lose focus on your horse and what you want to accomplish. Your horse also gets bored and loses focus on you.
If you're not telling your horse what to do, then he's going to start coming up with things and you may or may not like what he comes up with! Broken down, the time you spend on your horse's back is only a small percentage of the time you spend at a horse show. Socialize some time other than schooling time. Give your horse the respect of a little focus, and he will reward you with his.