I was sitting outside Starbucks yesterday and an old man came up to pet my dog and tell me a story. He said he was a city boy when he was younger, and went to work on a ranch that had race horses. He said all the farm hands were giving him a rough time there, until one day when he set up a bet with them.
He pointed to a tree two miles away in the distance up a hill, and bet them he could beat one of the race horses in a race to the tree.
He was a track star in his youth, so was confident as he stood on the starting line beside the horse. The farm hands laughed at him and placed their wagers.
A shot was fired and off they went, the horse darting out in front of the young man instantly by a large margin.
As the horse passed the halfway point, it's gallop turned into a trot, and the man started accelerating passed it.
The man continued to sprint and reached the tree before the racehorse, much to the amazement of the ranch hand bullies.
The man made the ranch hands a lot of money in the betting pool, and the chump became the hero. The quarter horse was brilliant at sprinting a short distance half the way to the tree. But was conditioned to walk or trot after that, while the endurance horse gained speed and accelerated through the finish line.
So on a ranch as in life, keep grinding through the tough starts, and don't look back at the quarter horses while you cross the finish line a winner!
photo - Pixabay