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Thursday, March 16, 2023
After growing up in England in a traditional girls' boarding school, then graduating from a London grammar school, Anastasia moved to the Netherlands where she is now law student. At university, Anastasia's daily life is different from that of other students. Her priorities and commitments revolve around horses. While other students make law school their only priority, Anastasia's time is devoted to her horses. divided between his law studies and his involvement in top-level sport.
"Our life is different from the routine we live. Commitments and priorities are not the same."
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As a result, the time ratio is very different for Anastasia and the other students. All their efforts are concentrated on a single source and they prioritize it, whereas she divides hers in two. "I prioritize horses as much as possible and others don't appreciate the time I have to devote to my sport"she says.
Yet this job-sharing arrangement makes things exciting for Anastasia. As she explains, it gives her a bit of a change of scene. And there's nothing better for the brain than a change! "It's crazy, sometimes I walk out of my criminal law class saying, "okay, now I'm going to blow my horses abroad!" But that's the reality." "Doing two things at the same time isn't bad, it's actually good for your head, because they're so different that they keep you motivated. As soon as I get tired of reading, don't understand concepts or things don't seem clear, I stop and go upstairs. And a few hours later, you can go back to that and be much more productive."
One of combining higher education and top-level sport is l'organization.
Anastasia points out that her teachers don't particularly take her sport into account. Law school is a very formal environment, where the relationship with teachers is not as familiar as in high school. She notes the importance of discipline and thepersonal organization in managing her time. She has resources at her disposal as a top-level athlete, such as an annual pass for the gym and the flexibility in your university timetable. But ultimately, it's her responsibility to manage her schedule and workload. Fortunately, students have resources at their disposal to help them, as practically everything can be found online.
"It's my own responsibility to take care of my schedule and manage my time properly to fit the workload, because it's my choice to do both."
That's why Anastasia is extremely strict when it comes to time management and organization. She sometimes plans minutes out of her day to make sure she gets her 4.5 hours of work in, or that she can get all the horses jumping, even when she has homework to hand in.
"So I'm really on the lookout for every minute of the day, even when I'm competing. Horses have always been and always will be a prioritybut I'm trying犀利士 e to devote as much time as possible to my studies."
Anastasia currently has six horses in her stables. Although she rides every day, she doesn't ride them all daily. Instead, she prefers to ride 3 or 4 horses a day and give them time to work properly. This way, she gets the most out of her training.
"I think I've learned over time, because in the beginning, that was my method: I'd wake up at crazy hours, rush to the stables, rush to work on the flat and I'd be done by 10am, when the others were just getting started. But it doesn't work like that. Horses know you're in a hurryIf things aren't going well or you don't have the time, things go wrong and you get stressed out too."
The organization of Anastasia's show jumping season has also evolved over time.
"Of course, it's changed a bit since I started because I don't allow myself to go on tour too often anymore. I've noticed that when I do, I'm extremely stressed, and by the end of the third week, I'm a bit lost because I know I have to go back to the chaos I've left for the last few weeks. So it's a bit unproductive.
So I noticed that two weeks is a good length for me to be absent. JI can cut away from the law and really concentrate on the horses, the people around me and my riding. And so, I reach my peak in the second week. One week is also a good compromise because I can manage it more easily with school. Long tours are not ideal for this period of my life. Maybe I can come back to it later."
Balancing higher education and top-level sport is difficult because it requires a lot of organization, time and personal discipline. One of Anastasia's greatest challenges is to maintain a social life while managing commitments. "I can't drink tequila at 3 in the morning and wake up the next morning at 6. hours and read the French civil code. It's just not possible."
She finds it difficult to maintain her routine when going out and having fun, but hopes to learn to better reconciling her life as a student and rider with her social life. For Anastasia, maintaining a healthy routine when she's stressed or anxious isn't always easy. "I've noticed that sometimes, when I'm really under pressure, I stop exercising or I don't eat very healthily anymore." You guessed it, for Anastasia, it's 100% or nothing. She is convinced that investment and discipline are the keys to staying motivated.
"I think it's dedication rather than motivation," said Anastasia when asked how she stays motivated. "There's this big goal in front of me and I always have it in sight. Even if it gets blurry sometimes, I always try to rewrite it for myself, to have it in front of me and walk straight towards it."
"I think it's dedication rather than motivation"
"Sometimes I'm not motivated. Most of the time, I wake up in the morning feeling tired, I want to stay in bed and have a day off with a nice cup of tea, in the warmth. But I'll probably be more stressed the next day if the workload keeps piling up... So I don't give in and take real breaks when I'm too overwhelmed. Because I'm motivation, it's all in your head after all - the body can withstand a lot more than we think..."
"I have a routine in place and there's no room for not doing it. There's just devotion and strict discipline towards myself. That's how I stay motivated."
"For riders who hesitate to continue riding and studying at the same time: do it!"
Anastasia underlines the many advantages of such a course, especially for young people. Firstly, any high-level education allows you to be exposed to many different environments, meeting interesting people who either share some of your values, or have similar ideas. It's an opportunity to be exposed to more interesting people.
Secondly, I believe that hard work will always result in something. It has to. It's like a generator. You put something in, you have to get something back, opportunities and doors open.
Higher education and top-level sport, the two are so different. But you'll be surprised at how they can sometimes help each other. If you're able to do that, you're already so much more interesting than those who only study or only ride. You're familiarizing yourself with a new environment, meeting new people, so do it! Don't stop climbing. For me, it's my source of joy and happiness, and I can't take it away. Without it, I'd be a miserable human being.
You can do both, it just requires a lot more self-care, strict discipline and organization as well as having the right people around you to motivate you.
Combining higher education and top-level sport isn't that complicated, it just requires good organization! To discover Anastasia's daily life, between horses and law, visit her Instagram account just below ⬇
