Denny Emerson’s Between Rounds column this week “The 10,000-Hour Club: Are You a Member?” really made me stop and think about my passion for horses, riding and competing.

He based his column this week (p. 48) in part on the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. The author, who also wrote the bestselling books The Tipping Point and Blink, discusses the story of success and how and why some people become successful and others don’t.

In Outliers, Gladwell reasons that it takes about 10,000 hours for a person to become proficient in a sport or activity. So, if you want to achieve greatness, in addition to innate talent, you must pay your dues through hard work and lots and lots of practice. Denny did his own fascinating mathematical computations, but just out of curiosity, I pulled out my trusty calculator and estimated the number of hours I’ve spent on a horse through my lifetime: 9,760 hours.

It’s a rough calculation, and on the conservative side, but it was an eye-opening exercise and interesting to discover that I’ve spent at least 406.5 days of my life sitting on a horse!

One of the points that Gladwell makes in his book is that lucky breaks are often a component in the lives of those who are highly successful. Perhaps that’s why we see so many children of professional horsemen make it to the top of their chosen sports. They have a wealth of opportunities that many others don’t have, especially children who were born and raised in non-horsey families.

But even children who come from opportune environments must have that inner drive in order to succeed. They must want to work hard, practice and improve. It’s not enough to just show up at the barn and get on a horse. You have to have the mindset that practice makes perfect, and perfect practice makes success come all that more quickly.

Denny makes a serious point, though. He notes that many aspiring young riders don’t take advantage of the opportunities they’re given to amass the hours necessary to reach that elusive 10,000 mark. And here’s where the balance sheet gives some numbers to those youngsters with a serious work ethic.

As you’ll see from Denny’s calculations, it’s virtually impossible for a 25-year-old rider to reach the 10,000 mark simply because he or she haven’t lived long enough. But, obviously, the more horses you ride, the more fences you jump and the more 10-meter circles you practice, the sooner you’ll log those hours and soak up the mileage and experiences that will carry you into proficiency and beyond.

Becoming successful takes time. So, if you want to become the best you can be in whatever endeavor you choose, just remember to take advantage of the opportunities you have and then make it so.

As for me, I may not make it to 10,000 hours this year, but I figure 2010 would be quite appropriate!