What Matters Is The Journey
Fitting him in Loki's dressage bridle |
Sunday, September 24, 2017
I have officially
wrapped up all of our jumping training…assuming we make it into Jump Start.
Sunday, Romeo and I trailered over to the barn where Emily first learned to
ride with the sole purpose of jumping The Scary Panel. They have always
kept this particular panel up in their arena. It has a painted horse on it and
is covered with the names of all of the young kids who have jumped it. Over the
past 11 years, I have watched horse after horse struggle with The Panel. So, I
knew that if I could get Romeo over it on the first attempt, anything at a show
would be doable. It wasn’t pretty but I got the job done. From there, we went
out into the field and jumped seven or eight cross-country jumps. You could
tell Romeo was a bit nervous, as there were no other horses within eye shot. I
have no idea why Richard following us on his motorbike was not comforting to
him! We cruised over all of the jumps and I called it a day. I am a huge fan of
ending it on a good note!
Heels down, eyes up, leg on
6 days to Jump Start
Dreaded panel |
Monday, September 25, 2017
Yesterday, I climbed up to the hayloft, retrieved 3 square bales of hay and drug them out to our makeshift arena. I’ve been watching cross-country videos from Jump Start (I'm doing everything I can to prepare!) and know that they have hay bale jumps on course. With Richard keeping an eye on us, we popped over the hay obstacle. No problem!!! We did it a few more times before wrapping it up. Both rides were short but for a specific purpose - present something foreign to Romeo and get the job done. Mission accomplished.
Heels down, eyes up, leg on.
5 days to Jump Start
P. S. - I have no idea why this font is gray. It won't let me change it:)
Morning dew and traffic
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Horse hunting in the early morning hours!
Today started at 5
AM. I had my last jump lesson at Erika’s farm at 8:00, which is an hour
away. Out in the field by 6:00, I couldn’t find the horses. I walked that 5 acres from one end and back. By the time, I found them; the horses were
convinced I must be a mountain lion. Running (and cursing) ensued. It was
not until Richard arrived, that we were able to bribe them into the barn with
feed. I climbed in the truck with dew soaked pants and fought the rush hour
traffic to get to her farm.
While sitting in
traffic, I was reminded of Emily and how many times it was so easy for Richard
and me to say, “You wanted to do this; go get him.” Sitting in the comfort of
our own selves, it was so easy to play the parent card and say, “just do it,
buck up, make him!” What kind of a parent was I? This is hard. It is scary.
And, it is DANGEROUS! Not that I didn’t know all of this before, but
again, I was on the sidelines where it was easy to be an armchair quarterback.
As this 40-day crash
course is wrapping up (hopefully), something I wasn’t expected has happened. I
expected to learn how to ride in a more polished manner. I knew I wouldn’t
leave anything on the table. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. What I didn’t expect
was to have the honor of peeking inside my little girl’s world; if only for a
few weeks. Throughout this process, I have found an even higher, more
purposeful respect for Emily Grace. She is simply a bad ass. She has chased
this carrot for years. She has ridden with bruises and cuts, in sweltering
heat, bitter cold, winds and rains, when things were going well and when the
chips were down, cared for and doctored her horses in the late night hours, and
above all, she has ridden a 1000+ pound beast with a mind of it’s own. The
beast has sometimes been her best friend and other times not, but she has
always climbed back on the proverbial horse and kicked on. What
dedication! What passion! It says something about one's character to make such
sacrifices.
As Richard brought
the camping trailer home and backed down to the barn for me to load up, I went
inside and prepared to make a new camping list of necessities. I opened the
closet to find all of Emily’s show clothes hanging neatly in a row. You see,
earlier this year, Emily set a goal. She wanted to ride in her first CCI1*. She
started training in late January/early February. She drove home from college
every few days to put all of the necessary training on her horse. She
crossed every T and dotted every I. She acquired the equine passport, signed up
for the memberships, drove her horse to the lessons, and competed in the
lead-up events. I watched from the sidelines. One week before the event, Loki
stepped on a clip and developed a stone bruise. We moved heaven and earth to
get him healed before the event; the farrier was there practically every other
day and the vet too. It came down to the wire. Would we go? Would he get
better? He did not. Through tears, she withdrew from the competition. She
refused to take the chance of her best friend, Loki doing even more damage to
himself. It was crushing. I knew she was devastated. But now with me being on
the verge of not getting into Jump Start - an event that I have done all of the
work to get to - I understand even more how crushed she was. My starter is no
CCI* mind you, but I feel for my girl even more now.
And so there are her
show clothes; they are waiting for me and my turn. If I don’t get into Jump
Start, it will hurt. Of course there is the North Carolina event but that was
not part of my dream; part of my goal. But you know what? It doesn’t
matter. Emily Grace has taught me lots. What matters is the journey; the
preparation, the knowledge, the passion. It will workout the way it is
intended and life will go on with a new set of goals and dreams. Thanks
Em for being the daughter you are and reminding me about the things that are
most important.
Heels down, eyes up, leg on.
4 days to Jump Start
Morning dew and traffic
Enjoying bath time after a great ride |
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