In this post, Sharon writes about having to withdraw Rafferty’s Rules from Burghley and the Pan American Games. We asked Sharon to be a guest blogger on Eventing Nation not because of her potential destinations as a rider, but because her positive attitude at every turn of life is an example to us all.
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From Sharon:
When John asked me to be a guest blogger on EN this spring, I think both of us thought that I would have something big and exciting to write about…either Burghley, or the Pan Ams, or some hard sought-after victory leading to crowning glory in a foreign country. But the eventing gods are harsh sometimes, and I will have to be content to stay home and root for my fellow compatriots as they take on the best of the best in those foreign destinations. Reg (Rafferty’s Rules) has a bruised coffin bone discovered via MRI, and he will need the fall season to heal.
The good news is bruises heal, and he will look forward to a nice winter of dressage and then onward and upward. Rolex next spring watch out! That is the wonderful thing about eventing, and life with horses. There is always another goal, something else to learn, another challenge to overcome. I find it fascinating how hard our sport is and how hard we work at it. It is a never ending challenge to get it right, learn, and better our horses and ourselves. I was at a recognized dressage show this weekend, and there were so many eventers there, working to get phase one right. I am going to a jumper show later this week to better phase three, and I know I will see the same thing. The pursuit of excellence is ingrained in horse sports…I consider it a level of respect for our partners. The hold horses have over us is unexplainable, they are so much more than “just a horse,” and my feeble attempts to put thought into words leaves me frustrated. So I hope you enjoy this clip that my dressage coach Linda Zang just sent me as much as I did.
