The French and I have decided not to go to Nationals. The thing is at the end of the day it is just a horse show. Yes it is awesome and yes of course I want to go (and of course I would love even more to win..) ;) BUT we figured best case scenario it will cost about 11k and after that I get to say if everything went perfect and we had a perfect test etc.... that we won Nationals. My sister put it in perspective for me, she said well, who won last year? I had to be totally honest and admit that I didnt know. I have limited resources and yes I know we could fund raise it and I know you guys would all help me out but then what about the next thing? And the next thing? Is this what we want to focus our collective resources on? I say I learned how to ride dressage just about two months ago. I have honestly been trying pretty hard for just over 20 years but I learned how about two months ago. I have had two shows in a row at I-1 zero scores under 70% since I learned to ride dressage. Now that I feel like I am finally riding dressage and not just stringing some movements together I want to learn to ride dressage really really well. I want to be able to ride one day side by side with Edward Gal and be proud of my riding. It used to hurt my eyes to watch myself on video. So I did it a lot. Now I can watch my videos and I am proud of them. That feels awesome. No one is harder on me than me. But I know what I need to get better. I need to surround myself with people who are better than me. I need to ride with people who push me and are critical and want me to do better. I feel like I have my dream team now. I have Siggi Wolff (also known as my dressage angel) who points out all the weird little annoying things I do and gives me solutions to fix them. I have Alyssa Pitts who has helped me dramatically with test presentation and helped me see things through the eyes of a judge (she has also been instrumental in helping get Squirrel Pants on track) and helps me make intelligent choices. Christine Traurig who just really changed how I think about riding. No unfocused strides. And of course Anne Gribbons who told me exactly what judges dont like about how I ride a test and how to fix it. We are getting there. Now I need to focus on what is going to make me a better rider. Siggi and I decided we take the next few months to train and in February we will head to California and try my very first CDI. It is time. It is my goal to be able to score a 70% in a CDI by February. The French is a great horse, I know he is very capable. Super excited for this next challenge. Up next, clinic with Christine Traurig October 3 and 4 cant wait! I have to say too, Siggi is not only a fantastic trainer and coach, she is about the best horse owner you could hope to work with. Flexible, generous, patient, and just an overall wonderful person. I feel incredibly lucky to ride the French but I feel just as lucky that it has given me the opportunity to know Siggi better. Truly a pinch me is this real partnership thank you Siggi from the bottom of my heart.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 00:49:28 +0000
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