I have been thinking about the Belmont Stakes race since they ran last week. If you are not familiar with the race take a look at these links:

“All Eyes on Rags to Riches“
“Rags to Riches makes history with Belmont win“.

When I moved to Kentucky in August of 2002, I did not have a clue about the horse industry. And to be honest, I still don’t have a clue. But as I continue to meet people that make a living with horses or have a horse hobby, I am becoming more nterested by the sport and by the athletes involved.

What are some of the things that make horse racing interesting? How about:

- the amount of care the horses receive and need

- the team of people (owners, trainers, jockeys, doctors, etc, etc) that are working to make one athlete their best

- the complete determination that these animals display when they race.

The amount of spirit that the horses display while they race is an example that moves me each time I sit to watch a race. I like to think that there is something very pure about their desire to race.

What makes the last Belmont so interesting? Well, the obvious answer is that Rags to Riches was the first Philly in over 100 years to win. It was a lesson for me that anything is possible. Don’t listen to the people who say something can’t be done.

Back to the pure motivation concept.. Brad Kearns talks a lot about the idea of triathletes racing with a pure motivation in his book Breakthrough Triathlon Training. (amazon link, my book review link). The idea of racing with pure motivation is one of the things that I’ve been trying to get my mind wrapped around. I guess one way to put it is - to develop a level of satisfaction from racing that is derived from an internal place opposed to external rewards. Ironically, when an athlete can move to this “place” the performances likely become more consistent and quicker. At least that is my hypothesis.

The biggest thing that I have taken away from and spent time thinking about is the team that surrounds Rags to Riches. I do not mean the specific people involved with her, but the concept of a team of individuals working together to assist an athlete.

In a way this is what we have tried to create as coaches at Mideast Multisport, but I’ve been more interested in this concept from an athletes perspective. If you have read anything about Lance Armstrong, you know that he was careful about who he allowed into his circle and he was meticulous about having everyone he needed as a part of his team.

I have also seen this concept - creating your own personal team - displayed by Gordo Byrn over the years. He has talked about the various coaches, mentors and training partners that he has associated himself with. He also has spent some time discussing that the “team” needs to assist your training. Don’t get too sucked into the momentum of the team, so that you forget what your goals/dreams/destiny are.

I wish I could share a lot of good ideas on how to set up a team for yourself, but I’m not sure that I know how to do that well. Sure, we can always find people with opinions and even a desire to help. But how do we balance the act of finding people to fill certain spots and filling those spots with peoplegenuinely interested in our success?

Let me know if you have any ideas….

Rags to Riches inspired a group of people with a great run at the Belmont. She did it even though there was a 100 years of history saying she couldn’t. But she didn’t do it alone. Her destiny is to be a great horse. The team around her allows her to experience and fulfill that destiny.