Before we get to Kimberly’s post, I just wanted to mention that Boyd and Remi have arrived and settled in well at Pau. I had a bit of trouble getting in touch with Boyd earlier on Monday, but he sent me an email Monday night saying everything was good and he had a great ride with Remi on Monday. You can read more about Remi’s trip from Caitlin’s new post on Boyd’s blog.
Now, without further ado, we have a very special article from an EN reader named Kimberly who competed in her first recognized event this past weekend at Chattahoochee Hills. With all of the ridiculous and petty craziness that swirls around upper-level eventing, reading Kimberly’s post helped me to put things back in perspective. It is all too easy to forget where we came from, why we started eventing, and what our sport is truly all about. Whatever we do as event riders we will never have a chance to return to the experience of that one sacred first event. Thanks for sharing your experience with us Kimberly and thank you for reading.
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Hi, I’m Kimberly Horne and this past weekend I competed in the Novice Rider division at Chattahoochee Hills with my mare Mer Soleil (Carmen) and it was a dream come true! For you to understand why, I must first tell you that this past weekend was my first REAL event. I am a college student, working a part time job, trying to pay for everything myself. I own a 9 year old Quarter Horse mare, and it has always been my dream to compete recognized so I could call myself a real eventer. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the money to compete recognized until now. My story starts back in the summer when my trainer and I discussed recognized events and how much it would cost me. I decided that risking my bank account was what I wanted to do, so my trainer and I picked Chattahoochee Hills as my first event. I was super excited and couldn’t wait for the end of October to get here.
Carmen and I schooled Chatt Hills cross country several times before the event, just to make sure I didn’t spend all this money just to get eliminated at the water or the down bank (my mare’s iffy spots). About two months before the show my trainer really cracked the whip and really put me and Carmen to work. Things were looking great as October approached and I couldn’t believe my dream was so close. A week before the show, Carmen got her new shoes and got her first stud holes – things were finally coming together! All of a sudden, Carmen starts rearing and bucking in my rides, something was not right. I gave her a few days off thinking she was sore from doing something in the pasture or from one of our rides. JoAnn (my trainer) came out to give me a lesson and found that Carmen seemed to be favoring her hind left leg. Both JoAnn and I knew it was too close to the show for this to be happening. I had put too much money and time into this event for it to not work out. – But that’s horses for ya! I had the vet out right away to access the issue. Turns out, Carmen had a hot nail – poor girl. The vet gave Carmen some Bute and said she should be all good by this weekend – phew!
So the day before the show came and with everything but the kitchen sink, Carmen and I headed down to Chattahoochee Hills to hopefully make a name for ourselves. Upon arriving, I found out I was stabled right behind Becky Holder – I get star struck easily. Later that day, I rode Carmen but it wasn’t the ride I had hoped for. Carmen was rushy and heavy. I figured it was just nerves and wasn’t going to let it get to me. Saturday morning started early even though I didn’t ride until 12:32. I got to the barn at 8:00am and rode Carmen to get all her jitters out. She was fantastic! I walked the cross country course with my trainer in between my morning ride and my dressage test. There were a few fences that I thought could be an issue if I didn’t really ride, but really, there were no fences Carmen couldn’t handle.
It was finally time to get on for dressage. Warm up was good, but not great. Carmen felt a little sluggish so I put my spurs on. When the ring steward called my number, I was wished good luck by my trainer and headed down to the dressage ring. Carmen immediately became the horse I had in my ride the day before, rushing off my leg and heavy in my hands. I felt like I had no horse. The bell rang and all I could do was say a prayer, hope for the best and ride my best. The test was a mess and I was crying as I came out of the ring. My trainer cheered me up and reminded me that I wasn’t at a dressage show, and that it wasn’t just one ride that made my score. I still had cross country and stadium. So I sat around and waited for cross country. While waiting I found out I was last after dressage. When the time came for me to get on and head to the warm up, my heart was pounding at the same rate as Carmen’s – fast. We were both waiting for this. Warm up was great, I still had the same energetic horse I had in dressage, but this time it was a good thing. When it was my time, the timer started at 10 and counted down Carmen was super excited and I couldn’t even go in the start box until the timer got to 2. I’m glad I waited until 2 because as soon as we stepped foot into the start box, we were off. Carmen knew what was going on and wanted to go! We flew around the course and all the iffy jumps were not a problem for my brave little mare. She launched herself down the bank and galloped through the water without hesitating. As we crossed the finish line, my trainer was clapping and hollering and was so excited. I leaned down and gave Carmen a huge, well deserved hug and totally forgave her for the ride she had given me in dressage. I had just finished my first cross
country course double clear and had moved into 6th!!
The next morning went by way to fast. I got up, fed Carmen and got on to warm up for stadium. Carmen was jumping great! Time came for me to go into the ring and everything blended together in there. I had never been in a ring so big. I felt lost for a second, but quickly focused on the first jump and knew where I was. Carmen jumped the first jump huge and popped me out of the tack, I quickly collected my reins and scoped out the next fence. Carmen was such a superstar, she knocked one rail, but it was my fault. I just didn’t have her as focused as she needed to be for the combination and she hit the rail on the first jump. We finished in 6th!
I couldn’t have asked for a better first event. I want to thank everyone at Chattahoochee Hills for putting on such a great event and for all the volunteers. I want to thank my mom for her support and for coming to watch me even though her schedule didn’t allow it. I want to thank my boyfriend, Scott for being such a good groom and for helping keep me sane all weekend. I want to thank my amazing trainer who I believe re-lived her dream this weekend as well. Thank you JoAnn Redmon for being there for me always! And lastly, I want to thank my horse for giving me a fun and safe weekend. I can not wait for our next event!
GO EVENTING!
