The latest addition to the EN guest blogging ranks is a real privilege for us. California’s Olivia Loiacono and her super jumping Subway (eat fresh!) stormed onto the 4* scene with a 15th place finish at Rolex last year that would only surprise those who do not know Liv and Subway. Olivia has been hired to work for William Fox Pitt this year–the same riding position that helped propel Sinead Halpin to the top of the upper echelon of US eventing. Liv has a few Visa issues to work out, but we look forward to chatting with her upon arrival at William’s yard. Thanks for writing this Liv and thank you for reading.
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From Liv:
Anxiety, Excitement, Paranoia, Amazement… Did I mention anxiety? I guess these are all normal feelings for dropping my horse off at the airport, to fly to England before me, so we can do Badminton this spring and I can work for the legendary William Fox-Pitt for 2012. To sum up my emotions, lets just call it blessed and overwhelmed.
Hello, Eventing Nation readers!! I am so excited to be able to be an Eventing Nation guest blogger this spring, I have a lot on my plate and it will be so much fun to share my UK experiences with you. To start I will give you a little history… I began riding as a youngster, in Pony Club and 4-H. I quickly took to 3 Day Eventing and bought Subway when I was fifteen, hoping he could jump high enough to get me my “A” rating in pony club (insert the emotion of amazement here). He has been an amazing horse, and I have been extremely lucky to have worked and trained with great people so far in my career. Most recently, I have been at the O’Connor’s the last 3 years, and they gave me the tools to be able to produce Subway into a four-star horse; we completed Rolex in 2012 and finished 15th. I have been working towards starting my own training facility out of Southern California, and when I was getting ready to leave the O’Connor’s place to do so I got an amazing offer to work for William as a rider this year. Needless to say I could not turn it down, what an amazing opportunity!
After a lot of thought I decided to take Subway with me to do Badminton this spring. Although he is not the most competitive horse at that level he has taught me a lot and we are both enjoying getting miles at the 4 star level, it’s so special when you have a great partnership!
So, now I sit, having just left the airport, missing my boy already and being, yes paranoid, that he arrives to Dorset, England safely. Anxious to get my work visa in the next 10 days so I can join him (also anxious that the spring goes as planned…. Darn anxiety…), excited about the opportunities I have been given for this up-coming year, and of course absolutely amazed at where this journey of Eventing has taken me.
I’m looking for to sharing my experiences with you this year!! Stay tuned 🙂
