I still remember the day I met my first ever “Eventer”. At the time I was a newbie rider and in my mind there were two types of riders, people who just rode horses and Eventers. I was in awe of Tracey (the first Eventer, that I had met). Even then I knew that Eventers were special.
It takes a special type of person to Event. You need determination, courage, tenacity and an iron will. The parents of an Eventer also need some very strong characteristics, the need to be an excellent groom, a tireless truck driver and a rock when things don’t work out. But no parent can provide the drive and courage to face what can be, and is, a heartbreaking sport.
No rider in our sport gets a free ride. You can’t pop on a horse Saturday morning that has been trained by someone else and with which you have no relationship and expect to do well. You need to put the hard yards in training, building confidence and a relationship between the two of you as a partnership.
Last year I met Elizabeth Barron at Red Hills and have since watched her results from afar back home in Australia. There is no doubt that Elizabeth (as an Aussie I reserve the right to shorten names so from now on she will be EB) is a good competitor and if recent results are anything to go by, she is an amazing competitor on her way up.
EB shot into the headlines late last year with a stunning win at Chat Hills in the CCI 2 star against some tough competition, and she opened the 2011 season up with a win in the Rocking Horse Advanced finishing ahead of Bonner Carpenter and Buck Davidson.
What sets EB apart in our tough sport is she managed these results while studying full time at Law School. She makes managing the dual life of a rider and student look easy. I know that neither is that and under her cool southern veneer she is one very tough competitor and will make one hell of a lawyer.
Elizabeth told me that her future career in law was chosen so that she might be able to fund her horse habit. I would not be surprised at all if I turn up at an event on the East Coast and can go to the EB Law trade stand to update a lease contract or arrange horse sale documents to be drawn up while EB rides 3 or 4 of her own horses in between.
In the meantime, EB somehow manages to find a balance in her two lives. Perhaps it is the disparity between riding and studying that make them compatible pursuits. Riding half a tonne of living breathing horse requires a focus purely on that half tonne of muscle and bone dedicated to fleeing at a millisecond’s notice.
When you lose that focus and start thinking about Contract Law or partying on Saturday night you often end up with your butt in the sand wondering what happened. Riding her horses Benjamin (The Graduate) and Rosie (Esperanza) five days a week provides a welcome release and distraction from the life of a law student.
I truly believe that being a student makes EB a better rider and being a rider makes her a better student. This is a life that many cannot balance and I know it isn’t easy but I think she does a pretty good job of it.
I caught up with EB when she was back home in Tallahassee. She tells me that she comes home every 5 weeks or so, in order for family farrier Dennis Dunn to give Benjamin and Rosie their regular pedicure. I know, in fact, she comes home to raid the fridge, pantry, dog food and feed shed in an effort to live the life of a student and rider. The Barron family home has plenty of extra supplies for the girls (EB and her sisters Anne and Rebecca) when they pop in to see Mom and Dad, or to top up the cooler and pantry in their student digs.
I know EN John has a thing for EB. He tells us that he can’t believe a rider of her talent and skill with the results she has produced is not on the developing rider squad. I agree with EN John on that, imagine how good she could be with the full support of the High Performance Machine behind her. But I also think that EN John has a thing for older women, not that EB is old, but she is older than him.
When EB and I caught up at Red Hills her weekend hadn’t gone to plan. Despite her home ground advantage (her Mom Jane is one of the organizers of Red Hills), EB & Benjamin had an issue early on and she elected to play it safe and pull out. This was unsettling and left a residual doubt in the minds of both horse and rider.
Thankfully since then they have gotten over the hump, and last week returned from Poplar with a credible fourth behind Leslie Law and Aussie Kadi Eykamp, finishing on the same score (49.60) as Callie Judy, only slipping to fourth on countback in the OI division.
With The Fork next weekend I know we haven’t seen the last from Elizabeth in the winners circle. Benjamin is brilliant on the flat and jumped one of the few double clears in the stadium at Poplar, no doubt helped by his warmblood roots.
I asked EB about her ambitions with Benjamin and where she hoped they would go. Her immediate goal is to tackle a CCI 3 Star, perhaps in the fall season this year. When asked about her ambition to go four star and Rolex in particular, her response was sensible and realistic, “lets get our first three star done first”. Benjamin is her first horse to go to this level of competition. So as a team they are learning together, what I do know is that there is no hurry.
In the meantime, the only way to ever make it round Rolex is if “Benjamin can lose enough weight to get his big fat belly over those big fences”. In the meantime young Rosie is waiting in the wings and there is a law degree to complete somewhere in between.
This week, head groom of the Barron stables, Jane Barron, will be making the trip with Elizabeth to compete at The Fork, notch up some more experience, and be one step closer to the four star dream. Every rider needs a supportive family and team around them to achieve their dreams and EB has that in bucket loads.
Remember to thank your groom and support team.
Yours in Eventing,
ESJ
