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 who I met while here has taken time out of each day to watch my horse be ridden. Ecuador invited me to have lunch with them when I was just finding friends. Mexico’s veterinarian got my mother a taxi to get to the horse park. I could go on, but the point is that I have received this quiet, but priceless help during my entire time here. I, the lone Puerto Rican…
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