HMI Equestrian Classic 2020

In all honesty, I didn’t want to write about this show riding-wise. I don’t know if it was nerves or I got into my head but this show didn’t go very well for me. We started in the jumper ring, doing the 1.10 classes to get into the ring before the weekend. In our first class, we had four rails, 16 faults. I kept making the wrong decisions to the jump and asking my horse to take off in places where he should never have to take off from. Of course, my horse was more than amazing and saved me more times than I can count which I couldn’t ask for more from him. Anyway, the next day in the jumper ring it went a little better, we only had two rails as opposed to four the day before. Nonetheless, that’s two more rails than I would like to have. The WIHS Jumper Phase was on Friday, which was set 1.10 in the jumper ring and boy was I nervous about keeping the jumps up. We did the 1.10 class before the equitation class and we had two rails, great... Going into the class, I wasn’t expecting to go clear given our history at this show. Somehow, the stars aligned and we went clear, it was our best round of the show so far.

Even though we had just had one of our best rounds of the show, I was still having anxiety about keeping the rails up and making the right decisions. I was getting jumped loose over the jumps a bit in the 1.10 so I shortened my stirrups and that was a game-changer. Oh man, I felt like I was in a whole new world, I could stay with my horse easily and stay with the motion of the horse so much better. With shortening my stirrups and working one-on-one with my trainer, my confidence was slowly coming back. My rounds were getting better and better and from my first round on Wednesday to my last found on Sunday, there was a huge difference not only in my mindset but also in my riding. This has been one of the hardest horse shows for me mentally and I feel like it showed me a part of the psychological aspect of riding that I haven’t had to face yet.

On a note unrelated to showing, I got the privilege of working for Casey Sorita and Ross Alexander of Therapy Corner Store. For those that are unfamiliar, Therapy Corner Store is an equine therapy company that works to make our horses feel their best with therapies such as Equitape, Multiradiance Laser, Bemer, Aromatherapy, and Deep Muscle Stimulator just to name a few. I worked for them throughout the week after I was done riding and learned valuable information about the work they do. I was able to do basic tape patterns with the Equitape and learned about the releases and what those releases mean. I look forward to working more with them in the future and learning more about how I can make my horse feel better.

Once again, a big thank you to Casey Sorita of Therapy Corner Store for the opportunity to work with her. Of course, thank you to my trainers John Turner and Quinn Partridge and my mom for making this week possible. Now back home to Evergreen!

Gladstone Cup 2020

After a long hiatus from showing due to COVID-19, what better way to jump into horse shows than my first equitation final? All jokes aside, I was ecstatic to be able to compete in the Gladstone Cup this year and get my first equitation final under my belt. I was lucky to be able to continue riding through quarantine since I am an employee of Thumbs Up Farm so I felt fit and more than ready to get back in the ring. No doubt I was nervous about this show, I hadn’t shown in eight months, and this would be only my second time showing in California.

Nerves aside, I drove down to Sonoma with my mom on Wednesday to find our horses stabled in a quiet, shady corner of the showgrounds, perfect for the mid-day heat. I was intimidated at first by the size of the grounds but after the first few days of exploring, I became more comfortable and relaxed. This show was different than most not only because of the COVID protocol but also that there were only four horses so we were all able to get quality one-on-one time with our trainer. The warm-up days came and went and I did the two warm-up classes with Wesley to get into the Grand Prix ring before the Gladstone. Initially, I was worried about how spooky the jumps were and Wesley may hesitate at them but he proved me very wrong by confidently jumping everything without batting an eye. Him being so good and so ride-able gave me a boost of confidence going into the class on Friday.

Friday came, the big day of the class and I went middle of the order for the Gladstone, perfect. I was able to watch a handful of rounds and see how the course rode before getting on. I liked the course a lot, it was more of a hunter style course since this was a hunt-seat medal so there was nothing too tricky which I appreciate. I got on and could feel the nerves creeping in but I knew I had nothing to worry about, my horse was schooled and I was prepared for this class. We warmed up well, we didn’t need too many jumps before feeling ready to head in to the ring so off to the gate we went. At this point I was really feeling the nerves, I don’t know what it was, I am typically a confident rider but the combination of it being our first show back and an equitation final in California was getting to me.

We walked into the class and picked up our canter to the first jump, single oxer off the right lead, a weak spot for us. We found the jump well and continued the course, finding all of the jumps relatively well. I came out of the round relieved and happy with my round, my horse was awesome and I felt like I rode well. We made it into the handy round! The course for the handy round was a lot of fun and we walked in confidently, I was less nervous than before. The course went well, I was short out of one line, causing me to be long out of the next line but other than that I was happy. We didn’t get a ribbon but I was thrilled with how it went, Wesley was phenomenal and I couldn’t have asked better from him. We finished the weekend by doing the junior hunters since it was open to anyone this year. We had a whole lot of fun in Sonoma this weekend and I’m excited for the next week of showing!

Also a BIG shout out to barn-mate Emily Steckler! She was Overall Grand 3’3” Junior Hunter Champion and Older 3’3” Junior Hunter Champion with her mare Wonderland!! SO thrilled for you Emily! Thank you to everyone who made this weekend happen including Quinn Partridge, Efrain Gandara, John Turner, and my mom! Can’t wait for what’s to come!