This year at Dunnabeck was by far the best one yet that I have attended- which is fortunately all buut 2(?) or maybe 3. Dunnabeck is home to me. I remember years ago, when I was a little kid, thinking that all of my eventing goals were wrapped up into running the recognized horse trials at Queeny Park. While I adore Queeny, it makes me laugh a bit to see how sheltered I was in my vision. I have been fortunate enough to compete my horses at some pretty prestigious events/venues; the Kentucky Horse Park, the Virginia Horse Center, Chattahoochee Hills, Wayne/Maui Jim, Southern Pines/Carolina Horse Park, etc. But nothing gives me butterflies like competing here at Dunnabeck, with all of my friends and family.
This year I got really ambitious and decided to compete 3 horses, something I have only attempted once and it nearly killed me. But I figured that I was close enough to home and there were enough barn friends floating around that I could snag some help if I needed it. Thankfully my wonderful friend Maggie and my fantastic mom showed up ready to rock n' roll, and knocked out 6 rides between dressage and cross country like a NASCAR pit crew. I cannot thank them enough for all of their hard work and (thanks again mother) people wrangling so I could stay focused all weekend.
A huge shoutout to everyone who helped make this event possible- there are too many names for me to list because I'm trying to crank this out before I head to class. But big ones go to Mark and Jill- who always run such a wonderful event and who I cannot thank enough for letting me be a part of this wonderful barn family. Colleen Mills who ran around like a crazy person trying to get things organized while also handling a kid/pony combination, Amelia Stratman who stepped up once again and filled a huge hole in order to get things done (the best sass in the world!), Latisha and Kenny- they just rock!, and all of the other parents who ran around and did little things. Thank you!
I have to add a quick reflection of my weekend and then tell everyone why this is the best barn family in the world and you all should be jealous. While my weekend was great- all three horses stayed in the Dressage ring and the scores were not terrible, they all cantered clear around the cross country, I remembered where I was going, and they all gave me good rounds in the show jumping. I was unhappy with myself at first, I could have easily made time on Goose on the cross country, and then ridden him more forward in the show jumping, fixed my mistake and not had the rail, and probably could have won (Even though I am SO THRILLED for Lacey, her story is incredible and I could not have been happier for her to get the blue- sorry to everyone else in the division, I am just still smiling from ear to ear for her) and I was disappointed about not winning at first. Everyone wants to win. Then I thought about how easy Goose made everything feel, from the flat work that is still coming, to the cross country where he skipped around, and how much jump he still had on Sunday, and I realized that I did win. I got enough entries for us to make running the Preliminary a success, and my horse made it feel like cake. I will be better for him next time.
And while I was very disappointed in myself for my rails on the young horses, they both finished their first events ever much more confident than they went in. And while I would have loved to have brought home ribbons on both of them as well, this is part of the game. It is all a learning experience, and I came away from the weekend much happier than I went into it. I feel like I won!
Now- there are too many people for me to give shoutouts to, and too many people rocked this weekend. But my barn family is better than your barn family for so many reasons, but the main one being all the smiles we had all weekend. No matter what was going on for one specific combination, they still showed up to cheer on everyone else. There were tons of hugs, smiles, cheers, and tears to go around. I'm pretty sure they could hear us yelling at Flying Cross when someone did well. We had people conquer the water, their first event, their show jumping nerves, and much much more. Some people realized that they need to take a deep breath, others that they need to go to the stick sometimes. But all in all, everyone supported everyone else, and we ran around all 2 full barns helping one another. This really is the best sport in the world, and my friends are the best ones anyone could ask for.
I am so bummed that I have to wait another year for Dunnabeck to come around again, but I'm ready to begin planning now! Who is with me. Congrats to all of our winners, of the million awards we gave out :-) , and I hope everyone had as good of a time as I did.
Some quick shoutouts! Because I have to.
Deb- for kicking ass at her first Preliminary back in 2 years! I love you and that little red horse.
Amelia- for running herself into the ground, defying a difficult summer, and letting it all go in the ring for an awesome win in a huge division. You've earned it girl!
Emily- for taming the wild man and finishing in style, with a pretty pink ribbon. I hope we have you hooked!
And Amberlyn for taking names in the starter and adding a blue to your collection
Last but not least- our fearless leader Jill. Who puts up with all of our crazy antics, manages to be there for everyone on this insane weekend, and always makes me feel better after I ride like crap. We love you and could not do this without you!
Until next year my friends
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