I always look forward to a new year. It’s an opportunity to start over, to re-evaluate your goals, discard those that aren’t working and draft new ones that will keep you moving forward. April Clay, psychologist and author of our monthly The Thinking Rider column, got me thinking about the value of evaluating what went on during the year, before coming up with goals for the year ahead.

Although her story — Debrief to sharpen 2012 goals — is geared for equestrian competitors, I think the information is valuable for any occupation or sport. The story encourages you to evaluate your performance during the year and discourages you from only looking at your performance in terms of wins and losses. To do so, you’re certain to miss valuable information that can help keep you positive and motivated to reach your goals in whatever endeavour you take on. Remember to celebrate all the little things that happened throughout the year that brought you to where you are today.

In addition to April’s column, we have several stories that should inspire you to reach for your dreams and “get ’er done” in 2012. On the cover, meet a hard working pick-up man, Blake Schlosser, who capped off his long career with a huge win — the 2011 Cowboy of the Year award. Professional barrel racer, Gaylene Buff, is no slouch either: she took home the Cowgirl of the Year award and is our “Woman of the West” for January.

Check out all you can see and do at the Horse Breeders and Owners Conference with our coverage on pages 16-18. Just one of the many exceptional speakers at this year’s conference is Terry Grant, star of the TV hit, Mantracker. If you haven’t registered for the conference yet, there’s still time. Visit www.albertahorseindustry.ca and click on “Conference” on the top menu. The conference runs January 13-15, 2012 at the Capri Centre in Red Deer, AB.

As always if you have any comments or questions about what you’ve read in Horses All please send me an email to sherry@fbcpublishing.com.