The Spirit of the Pan American Games has been Overwelming

Posted by on Oct 19, 2011 in News | Comments Off on The Spirit of the Pan American Games has been Overwelming

Walking down the barn aisles on the first day was overwhelming. I tried to ask for help in broken Spanglish, which left me wondering if I even spoke English. I came early to the Pan American Games without a groom, without a coach, without a veterinarian and without a team. I relied on my past showing experiences to pull me through. The Pan American Games, however, is not just like any other horse show experience. After I found my stall, I was pleasantly surprised when one of the grooms quietly carried all of my things to my tack room without me even noticing. The veterinarian from El Salvador...

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Opening Ceremonies

Posted by on Oct 16, 2011 in News | Comments Off on Opening Ceremonies

I had the chills, the kind that run up and down your spine, and my heart was beating so hard in my chest it was hard to breathe as we walked into opening ceremonies at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. A screaming crowd of 50,000 people shook me. On the way to the stadium Puerto Rico put on quite the show with drumming, dancing and singing all the way to the stadium. It was exhilarating to be surrounded by people with such a joy for the moment they were in. All the way to the stadium, people cheering for the 6,000 athletes from 42 delegations surrounded the walkways. Once we...

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Touching Down in Mexico

Posted by on Oct 14, 2011 in News | Comments Off on Touching Down in Mexico

Anyone who ever said the Pan American Games are “kind of a big deal” made the understatement of the century. It finally hit me that this was a huge deal when I stepped onto the tarmac on Monday after 16 hours of traveling to look up at a HUGE jet only to realize that this jet was the one that would take Ginger and me to the Pan Am games. Our three superbly hilarious Mexican pilots made the trip more than entertaining. Ursula Lange, my Puerto Rican teammate who will be riding in the dressage, and I got to ride in the cockpit for landing and take off. I was amazed just looking at the...

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Mexico Bound

Posted by on Oct 14, 2011 in News | Comments Off on Mexico Bound

When I was a little girl, I had my very first horse show at a local schooling hunter-jumper show. I remember when Laurel, my riding coach, asked me if I would like to go. I was giddy with excitement and couldn’t be more proud of myself. I rode a school horse named Little Sundance. The day before the show I brought home the barn’s tack that I would be using to be cleaned. My dad, who is one of my greatest supporters, was so excited that I was invited to show that he stayed up all night with me to clean my tack. We had no idea what we were doing, so we soaked all the leather in water and...

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Meet Lauren Billys

Posted by on Oct 14, 2011 in News | Comments Off on Meet Lauren Billys

I have had the awesome opportunity to blog for a major horse magazine called The Chronicle of the Horse.  My blogs will continue on their website, but I will put snipets from each blog with a link to continue you to the remainder of the article.  I hope you enjoy!   Hi. My name is Lauren Billys. I am 23 years old. I’ve been riding since the age of 8 and grew up falling in love with horses in boxer shorts, tennis shoes and half chaps. My best friends and I learned how to ride by trail riding, swimming down the river, and (my favorite) three-day eventing. My first horse, Ranger, came...

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