BY DEVON SCHWARTZ
The in-gate of a horse show may appear to be lined up with perfect, immaculate riders, but beneath the flawless coats and tailored breeches, there is a hidden epidemic.
As a competitive junior rider myself, I have spent years watching both my peers and me struggle with the constant pressure and anxiety that accompany competing. The traditional, cliché narrative blames external forces: demanding trainers or pushy barn moms. Curious if my own experiences were universal, I decided to gather real evidence.
I conducted a psychological survey of 100 competitive equestrian riders, primarily in the hunter, jumper, and equitation disciplines. The majority of the respondents are experienced athletes (74% have been riding for nine or more years, and 52% were ages 15-17).
The data reveals an interesting contradiction. While competitive riders deeply love their sport, they openly recognize that the psychological challenge built around it has become unsustainable.
In fact, 65% of respondents admitted they have considered quitting or taking a break from the sport due to the pressure and stress.
How can so many riders love this sport while also admitting they’ve considered walking away because of the pressure?
The Enemy in the Mirror
Many would assume this pressure comes from either a parent or trainer. However, that is not the case. According to the results of the survey, only 18% blamed parents and 22% blamed trainers.
Instead, a staggering 85% of riders reported that the intense pressure they experience comes from themselves. The anxiety is not caused by adults around us, but ourselves. Riders are cracking under the constant weight of our own expectations.
The question to ask now is why. Why do we do this to ourselves? What causes riders to put this constant pressure on themselves? The open-ended responses from the survey point to a combination of financial guilt, a ticking clock, and upholding a perfect digital image through social media.
There is no question that equestrian competitions are far from cheap. Many competitors carry this financial burden with them every time they step into the ring. As one respondent noted, the extreme cost “raises the pressure to do well, otherwise it’s a ‘waste.’” For many junior riders, this manifests an extreme sense of guilt due to their parent’s financial sacrifices. This added pressure of believing they need to do well, to make their sacrifices mean something, contributes to their anxiety. These riders not only struggle with the stress of performing but often feel an obligation to make this all worthwhile.
There is also the impending doom of aging out. If you were to ask any junior rider what they are least looking forward to in the coming years or even what they are scared of, the majority would probably mention aging out. Many experience the constant anxiety of accomplishing every goal they set before their “time runs out”. Between equitation finals, college recruiting, and Junior Hunter Finals, they struggle to fit everything into whatever years they have left. A lot of times, it does not matter how much they are told, “riding doesn’t end when you become an amateur,” because for many, it feels like the end of the world.
The last reason is the digital pressure of social media. Collectively, peers and social media emerged as more common sources of pressure than parents. When riders’ mistakes can be filmed and broadcast online within seconds, the fear of failure is at an all-time high. A striking 75% of riders cited having a “fear of making mistakes” as their primary stressor, while 63% blamed “comparing myself to others”. In today’s society, a mistake is no longer just a learning moment between you and your trainer; instead, it is potential content. Riders express the dread of a bad round or a simple mistake being taken out of context, uploaded, and ripped apart by a harsh digital community.
Risk vs. Reward Adrenaline Loop
In disciplines like hunters and equitation, which rely on subjective judging, there is a constant pursuit for that flawless, fairytale round. Over the last few years especially, the environment of horse shows has evolved into high-stress experience. According to the data, 60% of respondents report that they only experience stress at horse shows, while just 3% report never feeling stress.
So if horse shows cause so much angst and anxiety, why do we continue to step into the show ring? Riders are trapped in a high-stakes game of risk versus reward. For these athletes, the feeling of accomplishment, winning a blue ribbon, or having a breakthrough round with their horse completely “trumps the feeling of stress and pressure”, as one respondent remarks.
We tolerate the psychological toll because the euphoria of a perfect round where all the pieces fall into place is an unmatched high. At that moment, all the stress of social media, finances, and aging out melts away and riders experience the joy and are reminded of why they compete.
Shifting the Narrative
Should a sport we all love require a psychological survival mode? When asked what changes should be made for the sport to be more enjoyable, the communities’ answers all aligned in the same direction.
Respondents emphasized an industry-wide change: more focus on horsemanship and personal goals, and less on chasing points and championships. As one remarked, they ask for trainers to “believe in you as much as they apply pressure” and an environment where mistakes can be normalized and treated as a learning moment rather than a catastrophic failure. Most importantly, they begged for a kinder community, both in real life and on social media.
Ultimately, redirecting the trajectory of our sport requires us to look at the 53% of respondents who find their greatest fulfillment away from the competition ring. It demands that we must remember the real reason we do this: the horses. Whether that means taking a step back from the show ring, or making sure to cherish every moment with your horse, the bond between you and your horse should outweigh everything else.
The next time you’re on deck at the in-gate, adjusting your spotless helmets and polished boots, imagine the objective is no longer pursuing a flawless performance. Instead, envision a balance that bridges the gap between the sport we love and the psychological well-being we deserve.
Only when we replace the suffocating weight of self-imposed perfectionism with a community that normalizes mistakes and growth can we step into the show ring calm and confident.
Devon Schwartz is a nationally competitive junior hunter, jumper, and equitation rider from Franklin, Tennessee. She trains with Rolling Acres Show Stables and has earned top finishes in competitions up and down the East Coast. A rising high school senior, she plans to study psychology in college.
