For The Love Of The Game Poem by Fiona Burgess

For the love of the game
We rise before dawn
Rain, hail, wind and shine
For the sake of the game we greet the morn
We walk a road that's tough
And littered with bodies, blood, sweat and tears
Many obstacles besides
We force ourselves through our fears
Fortunes made and lost in minutes
That sometimes seem like endless hours
All rest in the heart of a beast
That carries his dreams as well as ours
Breaking records on dirt and turf
And through that barrier of pain
The fine line between champions and losers
Between ultimate loss and gain
Day after day, year in, year out
We rise with the dawn for glory and fame
For the love of a horse and the pride of a nation
All for the love of the game.