Betting on Bessie

Bessie was hands down the loveliest and most valuable cow in Farmer Brown’s herd. Of the best pedigree, this little brown Jersey produced prodigious quantities of milk (at least, for a Jersey) and always of the highest butterfat content, for which the breed is famous.

Not only was she the best producer, but she was sweet and well-dispositioned. Never a cross moment, never any high-jinks or escapes, no pushing in line, no bawling in the middle of the night, always trying to be gentle and pleasant, her big brown Jersey eyes expressing the kindness and gentleness of her soul. One in a million.

As it happened, young Bobbie Brown wanted a horse, but his parents always said, “No”. So Bobbie got the idea that he would use Bessie as a horse, and she was a willing enough co-conspirator. Before long Bobbie could be seen riding Bessie up and down the laneway, at first a bit clumsy, but before long vaguely reminiscent of the Lone Ranger and Silver. Vaguely.

Little by little Bobbie coaxed Bessie into more and more equine stunts, at first “jumping” over an upturned bucket, then over a washtub, and eventually over a low fence. Farmer Brown was more concerned about the effect on milk production than the safety of the equestrian pair, but Bessie mostly continued to do her thing in the milking parlor and Bobbie took no tumbles. Farmer Brown’s initial consternation turned to something more like curiosity mixed with pride. “I wonder what those two will do next?” he asked of Mrs. Brown.

What the two got up to next, in fact, was to enter the horse race at the county fair, where they actually placed eleventh out of a field of twelve. That is if you take into account that Number Twelve was a very old horse who died of a heart attack barely out of the gate. However, Bobbie and Bessie had placed, and took home a “Participant’s Ribbon”.

They were no quitters, these two. Every day they practiced, and Bessie got faster and faster, and the next year took home a blue second place ribbon. Media couldn’t get enough of the story.

So when somebody put them up to entering the Kentucky Derby, and the Derby governing board couldn’t find any rule excluding cows (a very strict reading of the document, of course), Bessie was entered for the next year.

Farmer Brown set aside a whole paddock and built a full scale Derby style track, placed speakers to replicate the roar of the crowd (so Bessie wouldn’t be startled at the event) and even bought Bobbie a second-hand but still good jockey outfit. But that wasn’t all. He took out a thousand dollar bank loan and bet every penny on Bessie.

By now, of course, you’re thinking that this will have some kind of Field of Dreams ending and Bessie won the Derby and made everybody rich and famous. Unfortunately, that’s not how it turned out. Although Bessie was very brave, and did her very best, she still came in dead last to empty stands, long after the rest of the field. And Farmer Brown’s bet was lost.

You see, unfortunately in the real world, you really can’t win the Kentucky Derby on a Jersey cow. As lovely a story as it may be, that stuff only happens in the cartoons, or maybe Hollywood. Not in real life.

So this is why in coaching young people and professionals I get quite definite about being realistic about non-giftings just as much as giftings. Spending time, money, and effort trying to excel at something for which you have no natural aptitude is worse than nothing, because it will only leave you with a bitter taste of “being a loser”, jealous of all those who achieve the same things with ease.

Becoming all you were meant to be also means letting go of those things you were not meant to be, or at least giving them no more care or effort than is absolutely necessary. Because the universe needs you to focus on all the good stuff you were put here to do.

As they say, “You can’t win the Kentucky Derby on a Jersey cow!”

(There is a happy ending. Bessie is sticking to her giftings, and winning Canada Jersey First Place ribbons at the Royal Winter Fair.)