Photography courtesy of Shanna Waite
Goodbye beginning of Washington winter, hello California!!!
Woohoo! Not only did I get lucky enough to escape Washington when the clouds started rolling in, but I also got my school work done, which allowed me to skip ten days to attend both weeks of the Sunshine Series. Located in Thermal, California, at the Desert International Horse Park, it was the perfect dose of sun before the cold winter. I also got the opportunity to work for Thumbs Up Farm throughout both weeks to help my parents with those never-ending expenses!
During this horse show, the Maclay Finals were going on during the first week. We chose to not go to the Finals this year because of expenses, and since Wesley and I are both green. We want to save our trips for the next couple of years when we're both more seasoned. I also feel like two weeks of consistent showing was more beneficial for us than a few classes at the National Horse Show would have been, for three times the cost.
Since it was the first time I’ve ever shown in California, I was excited to see where I would stand in the pool of California riders. Considering it’s more competitive down in California than in the Northwest.
The elevated level of competition almost “forced” me to step up and ride my best. It was insightful to watch many talented riders in person and see what qualities made their rounds go well. Additionally, what made their rounds not go as well. Watching all of these quality riders also made me want it more, want to be as good as them, better than them even. I would make a mental list of the qualities of these riders that I thought were beautiful and use this list as homework to do when we got home. Nothing like some motivation to get us through winter training!
I was surprised with how Wesley and I placed during these two weeks, we even won the WIHS overall the first week, qualifying us for the Hunterdon Cup next year! That would be super cool to attend for the first time next year if all is willing!
I hope to come back to California soon to show! I want to thank my dad, Casey Sorita, and my trainer’s Quinn Partridge and John Turner, for making these two weeks possible!