Posted by on Dec 22, 2011 in News | Comments Off on Disappointed But Not Defeated

Disappointed But Not Defeated

I woke up this morning with a feeling of incompletion after cross-country at the Pan American Games. Twenty-four hours ago I couldn’t sleep or eat. I woke up with clammy hands before my alarm. I was ready for the day.

When we arrived at La Hipica Club, we loaded the horses into trailers and took all our supplies over to Santa Sofia Country Club, where the cross-country was to be held. I got on for a quick ride when I got there to feel the footing and get a little air in my horse’s lungs.

I kept reminding myself that we were ready for this event, ready as ever, and more importantly, that we could do it. I felt the same way walking around the barns yesterday as I did the first time I went novice at Ram Tap Horse Trials in Fresno. I remember I was so sick I could barely stand up straight, and I was excited with so much anticipation.

I walked out to watch some riders take on the course early. In complete honesty, when I walked the course in previous days, the course looked challenging, a true CCI** championship with some three-star questions. I didn’t know how everyone would fair. After the first couple horses, I was still very nervous, but as the day progressed so did the riding as horse-rider teams were taking the course head on. My confidence grew exceedingly at this, but as my mother kept reminding me, “I had to stick to MY plan.”

The audience was wild….

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