Universal Life Lessons

Story appeared in the 2017 issue of QMS Connections Magazine.

BY HAYLEY PICARD, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
ALUMNI ALICE YOUNG (‘14)

Each year, the Queen Margaret’s School Equestrian Program offers financial support to students through the awarding of Shirley Burr Equestrian Scholarships. These funds can make a profound impact on a family’s ability to afford riding lessons for their child.

Alice Young by Rue Belday

Karli Johnston with sister Alice Young in St Andrews

How did the Shirley Burr Equestrian Scholarship assist you in continuing your equine riding and studies during your time at QMS?

The Shirley Burr Equestrian Scholarship allowed me to pursue my passion as a competitive equestrian athlete. Without the scholarship, I may not have had the opportunity to attend international competitions up and down the coast. This offered me a multitude of opportunities to learn in a fast-paced environment while also offering me the chance to become a member of a hard-working and passionate team. I do not believe this would have been possible had I not been awarded this scholarship.

Your equine partner, Pickles, was well known for her challenging personality. What did you learn from working with this horse through your high school years?

Even though I bought Piccadilly when she was only four years-old and trained her with QMS Head Coach, Cheryl Keith, in hindsight, I have come to realize that I learned so much more from Pickles than she could possibly have learned from me. The most significant, I think, is the importance of empathy. Piccadilly was a young horse, and just like many children, when she became confused or scared she had intense emotional responses. As her rider and caretaker, I had to learn how to help her process her surroundings and guide her to react to situations in a more controlled way. This helped me to realise how I would like to react to my own challenges on a daily basis. High school can be a difficult time. It is sometimes deeply frustrating, but my work with Pickles made me realise, and continuously reminded me, that the only way I could communicate accurately and empathetically was to set aside any outside frustrations from that day in order to show her the compassion she deserved, and needed, to learn new things.

How have you been able to utilize these life skills in your studies at St. Andrews University?

Studying astrophysics at St. Andrews has been one of the most challenging pursuits I have ever embarked on as I am consistently expanding my understanding of the universe. However, I can only imagine it would be much more difficult to tackle had I not experienced my partnership with Piccadilly. Much like her, I am learning new things, and often I do not understand them right away. Because I learned to empathise with Piccadilly during her training, I have found that I am much better at showing compassion for myself throughout my studies. I do my best to forgive myself when having trouble grasping a concept and I then formulate a plan to tackle the problem. Although I have found this to be a very useful skill, I also learned numerous lessons from the equestrian sport itself. I learned to manage my time, the importance of goal setting, and developed an appreciation for attention to detail, all of which have continuously aided me throughout the duration of my degree.

Finally, I would like to touch on a subject that generally has a bad reputation—failure. Piccadilly and I had many successes at horse shows, but for every ribbon I have hanging on my wall, I can recall several muddy falls, forgotten courses, chipped rails and tears spilt. Quite possibly the biggest lesson I learned, was to embrace failure. Each time I had to dust myself off I knew I was challenging myself. Maybe today I had not managed to achieve my goal, but tomorrow I would try again, and the next day, and continue to try until one day, Piccadilly and I would execute it effortlessly. From this I discovered that I would much rather learn and grow, failing consistently as I go than win every time and never challenge myself. Pickles taught me tenacity.

“Success” does not have the same meaning for me as it once did. Before being paired with Piccadilly, I thought that to succeed was to be the best—to win. Now I would say that the outcome I value the most is the one where I grow as a person. That is how I have come to measure my success and develop future goals. I chase these dreams relentlessly, occasionally stumbling, but knowing that I will continue stronger and more knowledgeable than I was before. I take this idea with me as I navigate the unmarked path before me, occasionally wishing I had a map, but generally enjoying the adventure!