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2020: A final push to the finish line

22.12.2020 // Leave a Comment

Like most Sydneysiders, my holiday plans are derailed. Again. This time its thanks to the Northern Beaches hotspot, right on the door step of my safe space. My sacred place. Where I’ve trained to train the horses that in turn taught me so much. The very horses that held the tenuous threads of my life together through the sudden death of my dad and demise of my marriage and the turmoil of a year that turned life on its head for all of us. 

How completely and utterly infuriating. And yet, if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that there’s very little we can actually control on this third rock we inhabit.

So all that’s really left for us is to choose is our response. We can choose to get back up and go on. And we will.

If at this point you’re thinking “I just can’t”, I get it. And so, I present for your inspiration one Gillian Rolton AM riding the magnificent Peppermint Grove at the Atlanta Olympics in Team Eventing. 

This was the second Olympics for Gill and Peppermint Grove following on from their successful gold-winning campaign at the 1992 Barcelona games.  And it’s a ride that not only fueled my love of horses but showed me what true courage and grit and teamwork really looks like. With perhaps a dash of insanity, for good measure.

Eventing is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against others across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This event has its roots in a comprehensive cavalry test that required mastery of several types of riding. 

At the Olympics, team eventing pits teams of horse-and-rider pairs, one country against another. Men and women compete equally for a place on the team, the three highest scores counting towards the medal tally. No gender segregation. Only talent determines who makes the team. Gill was the first Australian female to win an equestrian medal at the Barcelona games in 1992, and the only woman on the team in 1996.

Coming out of the dressage, the Australians were on the brink of winning gold when Peppermint Grove skidded during the cross-country phase. Gill remounted (as the rules allowed back then) unaware she’d broken her collarbone and ribs, but found herself unable to use her left arm. 

The next jump was one of the most challenging on course: a massive down-bank into the water then up onto a bridge then back down into the water. Peppermint Grove stumbled off the bridge under the dead weight of his rider who fell again, this time into the water. 

At this point Gill had a split-second decision to make: “Do I get up and go on? Or do I give up?” 

Team Eventing is just that. A team sport. Giving up means relinquishing a medal not only for oneself, but also for the team.

Gill was all in. She got back on the horse, and now had trouble breathing as her lung was punctured. But Peppermint Grove carried her home, across the impossibility of another 15 jumps for an excruciating 3 kilometres, and all the way to the winner’s podium. 

Taken to hospital afterwards, Gill refused painkillers in case she had to ride again the next day. She didn’t have to, but her ride proved an inspiration to her team, which went on to win gold.

Gill was later heard to say “You don’t go to the Games to be a wuss, you don’t go to the Games to be a wimp, you go to the Games because you’ve got to get through those finish flags no matter what.” 

I get it. 2020 sucks. And, we’re going to make it to the finish line. Together. No matter what.  

Merry Christmas and see you on the other side!

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Jen Dalitz

2 years ago

Jen Dalitz

Thought since it's too hot to ride today I'd write another post with some more insights from my equestrian adventures. This one is about the hogwash of goal setting and was inspired by the influx of deals in my inbox from so-called "experts" and "thought leaders" offering their services to assist me in setting goals for 2020.

BREAKING NEWS: Setting goals won't of itself make change - it takes relentless hard work to turn a dream into reality and you have to be willing to stay the distance.

Happy new year everyone, and may you stay the distance to achieve all the good things you’re willing to work hard for. I can't wait to follow your success!

#dreams #goalsetting #staythedistance #thisisleadership

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Will you stay the distance? - Jen Dalitz

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As is customary this time of year, many people are planning their resolutions and setting their goals for the year ahead. An increasing number of ...
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Jen Dalitz

2 years ago

Jen Dalitz

There’s a saying in the equestrian world that the horse always comes first. That means, amongst other things, that in the morning the horse gets breakfast before you even put the coffee on to brew; when you arrive at an outing you set up base camp in a safe place with a fresh supply of water and tether your steed before setting up your own swag; and when you get home in the dark after hours of driving and the adrenaline of competing has long evaporated, it’s the horse that gets unloaded and fed and packed away first.

This extends to inspecting the dressage arena or show jumping course to identify potential hazards or gradients or tricky lines that can make the going tougher; and to walking a cross-country course to scout out any obstacles that might surprise or spook the horse. In so doing, the rider can be prepared to sooth her horse over any lairy logs or daring ditches that may otherwise seem impossibly high or wickedly wide to navigate at full gallop.

Quite apart from the issue of animal welfare, riders put their horse first because they need their horse to believe in them. Together they form a partnership, a special bond and trust that plays out not only on the ground but more importantly when mounted, where the stakes are higher and there’s less wriggle room for getting out of sticky spots. Manoeuvring half a tonne of flight animal around obstacles at pace requires a willingness and commitment by the horse to follow the rider’s lead, come what may.

The horse for his part will do this without blinking, knowing that the rider always has his interests at heart. He learns that when the going gets tough his rider will be right there with him, offering encouragement and a kind word or a scratch on the neck when reassurance is called for.

A horse will follow the lead of its trusted and competent rider, even though it’s sheer size and might offers a clear and ever-present choice to not follow.

One might draw parallels from the power and persuasion of the horse and the confidence it draws from its rider, to the sheer size and scale of a nation and the confidence it draws from its appointed leaders.

The nation, through its population dispersed geographically and economically across country or continent, has a clear and present choice as to follow it’s political leaders, or not. Whether to believe in its leaders, or not. Whether to elect or re-elect its leaders, or not.

I believe the single greatest determinant in this choice is whether a constituent feels that they come first, or not.

Of course, coming first will mean different things to different people but there are certain factors that at an aggregated level will be universal. Factors like leaders being present, decisive, compassionate and showing they care in times of crisis.

Think Anna Bligh during the Queensland floods. Kevin Rudd in the aftermath of Black Saturday. John Howard in the devastating wake of the Bali bombings.

And then there’s Scott Morrison. As I write, bushfires are raging across five states and there have been “watch and act” and emergency levels incidents for months. Mr Morrison’s home state of New South Wales is in the throes of a megafire the likes of which the Rural Fire Service has never seen. Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia are also on tenterhooks as a mostly-voluntary army of firefighters decide hour-by-hour, day-by-day and week-by-week where to prioritise their emergency response.

Against this backdrop, Mr Morrison decided the time was right to take a family vacation to Hawaii, far away from the smoke and haze that his constituents in Sydney have been enduring for weeks. It was only the tragic deaths of two volunteer firefighters, both young men with young families and in the prime of their lives, that inspired Mr Morrison to cut short his holiday and return home a day earlier.

Upon his return, and during a press conference at the NSW Rural Fire Service headquarters in Sydney, Mr Morrison stated the obvious: "I get it that people would have been upset to know that I was holidaying with my family while their families were under great stress”.

Umm. Yes. It’s surely a reasonable expectation that our elected leader would stand with his people during a crisis of such magnitude, if not through a feeling of genuine concern or obligation then surely to at least to create an impression as such?

He then added “But I'm comforted by the fact that Australians would like me to be here, just simply so I can be here, alongside them as they're going through this terrible time ... and I apologise for that."

My view is it’s not so much that I would like him to be here at this time; but that I can’t understand why he wouldn’t want to be here with the citizens of the country he leads, at what for many is their darkest hour.

It surely doesn’t feel like his citizens come first.
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Jen Dalitz

3 years ago

Jen Dalitz

Oh dear. Poor Leigh Sales. For many women though, the business kiss is an increasingly frequent occurrence. So, is there ever a place for it? My thoughts on the matter here... and what managers and people leaders should do now. ... See MoreSee Less

Is there ever a place for the business kiss?

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Friends you may have heard me on ABC radio today commenting on Leigh Sales' unwanted lip-kiss while MC'ing at a charity event on the weekend. While it...
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Jen Dalitz

3 years ago

Jen Dalitz

What are the lessons you’re teaching your kids? We took the opportunity of a holiday long weekend to visit my mum interstate as the timing of the trip coincided with my son’s favourite AFL team battling it out against my mum’s beloved team. Perhaps only those of you with the love for AFL will appreciate why we’d plan a long distance trip around a game of footy, but suffice to say it was a passion project! With every ounce of anticipation, the game was a tough, tight duel and could easily have gone either way. Yet when the final siren sounded, it wasn’t our team that was smiling. It sure is tough for a 10 year old boy to sit within a crowd 41,000+ people all cheering for the opposite side. It was tough for him to see the exhaustion and disappointment on the faces of the players he adores. And yet, it’s so important for him to learn that his team won’t always win. There’s so many lessons in that, but the one I chose to instil is that you won’t always back the team that wins but you’ll always back the team that you love. That’s why I asked him to wear his team colours home the next day, and show his support even when the chips are down. That’s the kind of commitment I want my son to learn and the kind of team player I want him to be. PS. #gotheGiants @GWSGiants #neversurrender ... See MoreSee Less

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Jen Dalitz

3 years ago

Jen Dalitz

I haven’t been here in a while as the writing has been on hold. But I was reminded today that there are things in our life that light us up. That might take us out of our comfort zone but, once you sit with it, bring you both joy and a sense of “I can do this” achievement. These moments are such a gift. So I’m curious, what’s your special thing that lights you up?

Despite (or in spit of) my professional career, these moments for me normally involve my horses. I’ll never be an equestrian Olympian, but I take great pleasure in all the lessons my horses teach me. They remind me that it’s a team effort, we’re in it together, and that if I’m prepared to give a little bit more, they will too. That’s true whether we’re on the ground taking care of their feet, or grooming, or when I’m atop riding as one. Two hearts one team.
It’s hard to describe the adrenaline and joy they bring to my life. But I’d love to know, what lights you up??
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