It’s finally Friday! And time for another Lower-Level Event Rider Profile. We’ve met Nation members from all over the US and the world, and today we’re paying tribute to Montana (tip of the hat to Rebecca Farm) to meet Brigit. If you wish to be featured in an upcoming profile, fill out the Questionnaire and email it to [email protected]. Have a happy weekend!!
FEATURED RIDER:
Name: Brigit
Age: 15
Location: Montana
Primary horse’s name: Amstel- “Dawkins”
Age, breed, pertinent info:
2002 (7 coming 8) Thoroughbred gelding. Has competed Prelim and (before I bought him) was ready to go CCI*. I bought him almost exactly 1 month ago. We bought him from Hawley Bennett, and he is already a strong eventer although he’s only been competing for a year and a half. He LOVES jumping! Dressage he will tolerate and can actually be a quite nice mover if you ride him right and get him going. But jumping is really his strong suit, particularly cross country because he can, and likes to, gallop fast.
Level currently competing: Training
Short term goals this spring/summer:
Move up to Prelim, continue to go clear at all events at Training level and Prelim, and I’m really hoping to do really well at Rebecca Farm at Training level this year! Since it’s my only “local” (3 hours compared to 11) event, and it’s such an amazing one, I would really like to do well!
Year-end goals: Compete in the CCI1* at Galway Downs in November
Overall goals?
I want to compete in the NAJYRC at 1* and hopefully at 2* as well. I know Dawkins has the potential to go VERY far in eventing, so I want to get myself going at a high enough level to get HIM there. I want to improve our dressage, and not have ANY stops. Obviously, there’s the classic overall goals every 15 year old eventer has as well, which are all my goals. Rolex, Olympics, etc.
What’s the best thing you’ve learned recently?
I spent all of last winter riding dressage. I didn’t have a horse to ride, so I was taking 2-3 dressage lessons per week on dressage horses at my barn. Although I didn’t jump a fence for 8 months, when I finally had the chance to jump again (when trying out Dawkins), my jumping was 1000 times better than it had been. Dressage really is the foundation for everything. A solid dressage base will improve stadium and cross country and you’ll do so much better in eventing!
Dawkins also settles in to dressage better if I sit the trot rather than post. I have no idea why, but when he starts getting tense and flipping around in dressage, if I sit the trot he settles down almost instantly.
Favorite eventing moment/story?
My favorite moment so far in eventing happened just this past weekend at Inavale Horse trials! I was out on the cross country course, and we were coming to the jump that I had been nervous about since I had walked the course, the Trakehner. Until I jumped it in the event, I had not jumped a trakehner on Dawkins, and had only jumped one twice before on a horse who had no business jumping something that size and I actually ended up falling off. So I was NERVOUS. I had been reassured by Hawley that he did FINE at trakehners, but I was still so nervous, especially because so many people had fallen off at that jump already! So as we came up to it, I was already putting my leg on, probably a lot more than I should. I know I was tense and not riding as well as I should have. But Dawkins just headed up to the trakehner and popped over it without a second of hesitation or a peek into the ditch. It’s one of my favorite moments because I know he really will do anything on the cross country course!
Link to blog or website, if applicable: http://eventer4life.wordpress.com
Photos or videos: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_dzYj91uh8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKdy2me0Zlg&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jK1SUyXH_E&feature=channel – after owning him for 1 week. My second course on him ever.
