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Name: Ryann Quigley
Age: 19
Location: High Point, NC
Relationship to Eventing: Prelim Rider
Favorite Eventing moment/story?: The 2011 Bromont CCI*. I left my first Bromont experience with a smile on my face. A little back-story, after recovering from a suspensory injury, both my horse and I’s confidence was a little shaken. Our first preliminary resulted in elimination at fence 8. I started working for/with Mara DePuy who slowly but surely pumped us with confidence, transforming our performance dramatically. We progressed from this elimination in February to being the Top Placed YR and 5th of 40 in the CCI 1* and winners of the XC style award. I can’t even pinpoint my favorite part of the weekend, but if I were to guess, I would say the D Box. Unusual for some, but I got to sit there for a moment, in the chilled air, watching Mara, my mother and super groom Katie take care of Moose. I suddenly got filled with emotion, I realized I had just jumped clean on the hardest track I’ve ever encountered, and only added 4.4 time penalties. It was incredible.
If you had to pick one reason why you love Eventing, what would it be? I love the community, and the people that are in it. At college, I keep my horse at a local Hunter/Jumper barn. Everyone there is very nice and easy to get a long with. They had invited me to participate in a jumper show near by, and being that Show Jumping is my worst phase, I agreed it would be great practice. I was greeted by a grumpy middle age woman, irritated that I had no idea how to fill out an entry form, and shooed me away when I asked what the strings were for. No one asked how your rounds are, and if you had a great one, people glare at you thinking “how dare you leave all those rails in the cups.” Eventing could not be more different, and it is fantastic. People warn you about tricky parts of courses, congratulate you on a job well done, and they actually mean it.
Overall Goals in the sport: I’ve had this long-term goal to get to Rolex as a Young Rider. I am now coming to terms with the fact that it will not happen. Not because I’m not a good rider, not because I don’t have a great horse, but because fate just isn’t on my side. The horse I have now couldn’t take me to a four star. Hands down. I’ll be lucky if I can get him to a two star. As I reevaluate my goals, I’m looking at completing the Fair Hill 2* in 2012, making it to YR in 2013, my last year, and doing well. I hear all these kids who just want to make it to championships, but I always think to myself, why would you go just to go? Waste all that money to have a run out and 3 rails? Take your time. Go to be a contender, not just a competitor. I want to win.
Biggest Role model: I always pondered this question, and never really had an answer. As I said before, I worked for Mara DePuy this past summer and as a result, my outlook on role models changed. Mara is the nicest, friendliest, most approachable person I have ever encountered. She cares about your goals, she cares about your horse, and she cares about you. She does everything in her power to help you succeed. She will put absolutely everything into helping you. She is truly an amazing person. She showed me that the ups and downs of eventing aren’t everything, and I certainly had a fair share of ups and downs this summer. She can handle anything that her horses throw at her, and she is always optimistic. She is a true horseman, and I can only hope that I can be just as amazing as her one day.
