It's not about the ribbon or the placing
The final day of the long format at IEA was a mixed bag for our group. After a long day on Saturday and lots of prep for the final jogs and show jumping, heartbreak snuck in. Goose had been quite foot and body sore the night before, which thankfully was probably just because he was a tad bit tired and needed a good night's rest. He looked like his usual perky self the next morning when I opened his door and jogged great for my coaches, the wonderful O'Donoghue family, before I put on the finishing touches.
One of our young riders unfortunately had to withdraw her horse during the second horse inspection, and we are hoping it is nothing major. She has a lot to be proud of from the weekend though- with a good dressage test and zero penalties on the cross country, she should be proud of her little thoroughbred. It is unfortunate when you cannot complete an event, but the best interest for the horse is what matters most, and I hope that she learned a lot from this experience. Everyone else from our group made it through the final inspection, and I have to say the horses as a whole looked good.
I drew the (un) lucky straw and by being in last place I got to go out there and show jump first for the Training 3 day. I have major nerves when it comes to the show jumping, and after watching rails fall in many different places for many riders the day before, I have to admit that I was nervous even though there was no pressure. I am a perfectionist and I hate to put a blemish on my horse's record, plus I felt that I owed it to him to give him a perfect round since I had messed up the day before. We went into the ring and he showed me that he was fit as a fiddle and no worse for wear from the day before. I cantered around, feeling pretty good, and then MISSED at the first fence. Thankfully he is a good jumper, but I just knew when he rubbed the back rail that it had fallen. So I sucked it up and tried to get better for him, and after about fence 3 things started to click into place. He jumped out of his skin for me and after I landed from the final fence I stole a glance at number 1 to see the back rail still in the jump cups. I had just jumped double clear to start off the division and complete our first three day! At that moment nothing else from the weekend mattered. I know this horse can lay down a good score on the flat, and I know the cross country is there. For me to overcome my own fears and nerves and get in done in the show jumping ring, over spooky plastic poles, was a win for me this weekend. To top it off Goose finished in 9th, which got a ribbon and we got to victory gallop, even if it was still last place for the horses who completed. I could not care less about the scoreboard though, I conquered one of my goals and have a sound, happy, fit horse when I got home.
The entire weekend was like a dream come true for me. I have waited for this weekend for such a long time, and to not only have competed, but COMPLETED a long format is now something to check off of my bucket list. I may not have won, or even been in the top 5, but to me that does not matter. I was hunted down after the first jog to braid for hire because I had beautiful braids on my own horse, I was told on roads and tracks that I was an inspiration and my horse was a favorite to watch on steeplechase, and the assistant TD ran into me at the gas station on the way home and said I did a wonderful job taking care of my horse and showed wonderful horsemanship. Those little comments added on top of a wonderful weekend make me forget about the number on the scoreboard and let me know that I am doing my job correctly. I love my horse and I could not be more proud of him, I am just blessed to have him at this point in my career. Here is to many more three days with him, and learning together along the way.
I hope that I was able to help our first timers and that they let me tag along if they go for the Training 3 day next year! They were all wonderful. I made some great new friends, got to hang out with some old ones, and I feel like I learned a ton. I cannot thank IEA and all of the volunteers enough for everything that they did to make this event possible, and I hope to run a young horse or two there in the future as well. It was a top 3 weekend for me as far as my event weekends go, and one I will remember for the rest of my life.
The big thing I think everyone needs to take away from this, especially those of us who didn't have the weekend we dreamed of, is that completing one of these is a huge accomplishment in itself. We developed a great partnership with our horses, and we finished. At the end of the weekend a number is just a number, and you have to take all of the good home with you, and channel the bad into a learning experience. I hope everyone made it home safely, and that their ponies all got to have a good roll in their shavings or mud like my horse did! Now to enjoy a couple quiet (haha!) days and look forward to our next adventure.
Thank you all again!
Courtney and Goose
The final day of the long format at IEA was a mixed bag for our group. After a long day on Saturday and lots of prep for the final jogs and show jumping, heartbreak snuck in. Goose had been quite foot and body sore the night before, which thankfully was probably just because he was a tad bit tired and needed a good night's rest. He looked like his usual perky self the next morning when I opened his door and jogged great for my coaches, the wonderful O'Donoghue family, before I put on the finishing touches.
One of our young riders unfortunately had to withdraw her horse during the second horse inspection, and we are hoping it is nothing major. She has a lot to be proud of from the weekend though- with a good dressage test and zero penalties on the cross country, she should be proud of her little thoroughbred. It is unfortunate when you cannot complete an event, but the best interest for the horse is what matters most, and I hope that she learned a lot from this experience. Everyone else from our group made it through the final inspection, and I have to say the horses as a whole looked good.
I drew the (un) lucky straw and by being in last place I got to go out there and show jump first for the Training 3 day. I have major nerves when it comes to the show jumping, and after watching rails fall in many different places for many riders the day before, I have to admit that I was nervous even though there was no pressure. I am a perfectionist and I hate to put a blemish on my horse's record, plus I felt that I owed it to him to give him a perfect round since I had messed up the day before. We went into the ring and he showed me that he was fit as a fiddle and no worse for wear from the day before. I cantered around, feeling pretty good, and then MISSED at the first fence. Thankfully he is a good jumper, but I just knew when he rubbed the back rail that it had fallen. So I sucked it up and tried to get better for him, and after about fence 3 things started to click into place. He jumped out of his skin for me and after I landed from the final fence I stole a glance at number 1 to see the back rail still in the jump cups. I had just jumped double clear to start off the division and complete our first three day! At that moment nothing else from the weekend mattered. I know this horse can lay down a good score on the flat, and I know the cross country is there. For me to overcome my own fears and nerves and get in done in the show jumping ring, over spooky plastic poles, was a win for me this weekend. To top it off Goose finished in 9th, which got a ribbon and we got to victory gallop, even if it was still last place for the horses who completed. I could not care less about the scoreboard though, I conquered one of my goals and have a sound, happy, fit horse when I got home.
The entire weekend was like a dream come true for me. I have waited for this weekend for such a long time, and to not only have competed, but COMPLETED a long format is now something to check off of my bucket list. I may not have won, or even been in the top 5, but to me that does not matter. I was hunted down after the first jog to braid for hire because I had beautiful braids on my own horse, I was told on roads and tracks that I was an inspiration and my horse was a favorite to watch on steeplechase, and the assistant TD ran into me at the gas station on the way home and said I did a wonderful job taking care of my horse and showed wonderful horsemanship. Those little comments added on top of a wonderful weekend make me forget about the number on the scoreboard and let me know that I am doing my job correctly. I love my horse and I could not be more proud of him, I am just blessed to have him at this point in my career. Here is to many more three days with him, and learning together along the way.
I hope that I was able to help our first timers and that they let me tag along if they go for the Training 3 day next year! They were all wonderful. I made some great new friends, got to hang out with some old ones, and I feel like I learned a ton. I cannot thank IEA and all of the volunteers enough for everything that they did to make this event possible, and I hope to run a young horse or two there in the future as well. It was a top 3 weekend for me as far as my event weekends go, and one I will remember for the rest of my life.
The big thing I think everyone needs to take away from this, especially those of us who didn't have the weekend we dreamed of, is that completing one of these is a huge accomplishment in itself. We developed a great partnership with our horses, and we finished. At the end of the weekend a number is just a number, and you have to take all of the good home with you, and channel the bad into a learning experience. I hope everyone made it home safely, and that their ponies all got to have a good roll in their shavings or mud like my horse did! Now to enjoy a couple quiet (haha!) days and look forward to our next adventure.
Thank you all again!
Courtney and Goose
Showing off out loot: Photo Credit Lee Carson
Alison Volpentesta on Cross Country: Photo Credit Nicolette Adams
Goose at the 2nd Horse Inspection: Photo Credit Lee Carson
Goose looking dashing: Photo Credit Xpress Foto
Goose on his way to a double clear: Photo Credit Xpress Foto
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