Continued on PG 24 >
My husband comes to every show. He loads and unloads the trailer and all my equipment. I have friends and fellow competitors that help me groom, get dressed and tacked up. It takes two people to get me on the horse: one person to hold the horse and another to swing my right leg over the saddle. I am often completely exhausted before I ever even get in the saddle and when I get off, I can barely stand or make it to a chair without assistance. I will never be able to achieve the true impulsion needed in a dressage test because I can’t sit a big, bouncy trot (not to mention my little horse doesn’t have one of those anyway). I have difficulty using my legs so closing the gate or making perfectly round circles can be especially challenging. I don’t know if I will ever be able to move up a level because cantering any extended length of time can be especially difficult.
Despite all of that, I am so happy and fulfilled because Working Equitation allows me to compete once again. It allows me to feel like I can set and achieve a goal.
Every single competitor is friendly and supportive. The camaraderie is amazing! Howard and Erica Peet have done an incredible job of teaching this new discipline to a group of complete newbies and made it so much fun at the same time. I am excited to practice with them over the winter and compete again
next year!
since he was the show manager, he decided that I would on Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. when it was cooler. He said he would just tell all the other competitors that everyone would have to wait to be pinned until after I finished on Sunday morning. Howard doesn’t know it, but after I hung up the phone with him, I was in tears. I don’t know if he will ever understand how much what he did meant to me. Every single one of the competitors was on board and supported me completely. I went to the show that weekend and won the High Point Award for Introductory Level.
The weather cooperated for the last two shows of the series and I finished the season winning Reserve High Point Champion.
I don’t want to pretend that any of this is easy or that I could do any of it on my own.