From “student” to “Professional”, with a capital P

I’ve left my blog posts slacking since I’ve moved home from Washington, and although I want to make excuses that it is because I am simply too busy or not certain what to write, that is not the truth. The transition of the move was more than merely geographical, I also felt it shift from my ability to be classified as a student, to being considered a professional. Why have I felt there is a difference between learning and teaching now, when I have so long considered them inseparable entities. You cannot fully learn without teaching and you cannot fully teach without learning.

Is it that I’ve considered professionals to be those who do not commit faults or find mistakes in themselves? Logically I can think that is nonsense, however there is something deeper that holds me to that conviction. Is it that we are taught from an early age that professionals can be trusted as always knowing what is best? I know that with myself in regards to doctors, I have long felt that they have so much more knowledge than us lay-persons and they will know what is wrong and how to fix it, and still find myself defaulting to that belief at times, despite the continued evidence on the contrary in my interactions with medical “professionals”. What then does professional really mean? According to horse show rules, it is anyone who makes a profit or is being paid for their knowledge or skill.

If that is truly the case, then professional does not denote that someone has any greater or lesser knowledge, simply that they are making money in that field. Ah ha! So, can I now let myself off the hook and accept that I can continue to make mistakes and not have all of the answers immediately?

To say that I still have moments where I find myself resistive with my own horses, or fearful, or apprehensive, confused, uncertain, bewildered, delirious and sometimes half crazy. What would it be like if we heard the same remarks from the top clinicians and trainers around the world? Would it put riders off by such admissions, or would it create a higher level of understanding and respect? To know that we are all human, we all have weaknesses and make mistakes. That often those who are the best at teaching the solution to a problem, are those who have struggled the hardest to overcome it themselves. Just some thoughts to chew on…