July 3, 2015 
Not every rider can be born with the tall, lithe physique that Biq Equitation dreams are made of. You may not have long legs, a tall, straight back or that textbook seat and hip angle that fill out the pages of Hunter Seat Equitation. But that’s okay. Because riders are athletes, not beauty queens, and the sooner you start to see your petiteness for what it really is—an opportunity—the sooner you can quit whining and start riding more like Margie Goldstein-Engle. Here’s why.
1. There’s no expiration date on your career as a pony rider.
(via en.wikipedia.org)
You may “age out” of the pony divisions, but you never truly leave.
2. You’re the MacGyver of makeshift mounting blocks.
Be it a tree stump, fence post, or curbside toilet bowl (yep), you’ve never found a mounting situation that couldn’t be overcome with a little creativity.
3. You learned early how to get what you wanted from a horse by being thoughtful, patient, and persistent.
(flickr.com/Dominion Valley Pony Club)
Big, strong riders may be able to muscle horses around for a while, be we all know that eventually, they fall just as hard as the rest of us.
4. You’ve saved TONS of money on stirrup leathers over the years.
The day you finally grew tall enough to unwrap your leathers and use them as God and George Morris intended was a major milestone.
5. Your ability to defy the laws of physics in tricky situations is unmatched.
Your trainer calls it “bad habits”. You call it “going with the motion”.
6. Low-hanging trees have never been an issue for you.
Ware branch!
7. You are a master at deflecting comments about your diminutive stature.
“Which way to the Shire, hobbit?”
8. You got a couple of bonus years in garters, bows, and braids.
(flickr.com/Five Furlongs)
So much more comfortable than tall boots—and gosh, were you ever adorable.
9. You are naturally soft with your leg and seat aids.
Sometimes it’s like the horses can’t even feel you up there.
10. You skipped that whole knobby kneed, awkward-growth-spurt phase.
It’s nice to always know where your head and limbs are.
11. You’re scrappy, and you’ve earned that reputation the hard way.
Chayni Chamberlain and Flo Jo. (Scott Reed/RFD-TV)
Because anyone (horse or human) that underestimates you because of your size will only make that mistake once. #ridelikeMargie
Like what you’re reading? Check out 16 Things Every Jump Crewman Knows to Be True, here.
