Skybreaker showing those cows he means business. Photo courtesy of Tamarack Hill Farm.
I have vivid memories of standing at the top of Killington Mountain in a GS suit freezing my butt off in the middle of January. My coach would wrap a huge wool blanket around me while I stood desperately waiting for my turn. I remember being so unbelievably cold and miserable, and I was never a very good racer because I was about 50 pounds lighter than the rest of my team. I stood at the top of the course thinking “why in God’s name do you do this to yourself?”
Of course, I loved downhill skiing, but my inspiration on those particularly frigid afternoons came from two different thoughts. The first was devouring enormous Belgian waffles in the Waffle Shack when I finished the course. These were no ordinary waffles, let me tell you. The aroma was so powerful, I swear you could smell the waffles from halfway down the slopes. If that’s not inspiration to ski faster, I don’t know what is. Okay, so I loved Belgian waffles … so what?
My other inspiration to keep going and not give up when standing on the top of a mountain in a blizzard was thoughts of my support team waiting at the bottom of the mountain — usually my mom, sometimes my sisters, sometimes a friend outside the ski team, and, of course, all my buddies on the team. Sometimes, it’s not enough just to love a sport on your own. Sometimes your goals and dreams become exponentially larger when surrounded by and cheered on by people that believe in you. Without a support team, I don’t know how I would have done any of the sports I have done thus far, especially eventing.
This sport we all love so much is anything but easy. My life is completely consumed by horses, and sometimes that’s a great thing and sometimes it’s what hurts me. So many of us give everything to this sport, to our horses and to our riding … and for what? Sometimes we’ll come home with a shiny blue ribbon, or sometimes we have the best cross-country outing ever, or we finally left all the rails up in show jumping.
We spend all this time and all this money only to compete, or ride your horse for what … four to five minutes in dressage, four to six minutes on cross country and several minutes in show jumping. We prepare, we sweat, we fall off, we break ribs and we do all of this so we can ride for a grand total of 12 minutes (give or take) at a competition. We do this because we absolutely love it. But maybe it’s not just about us in the singular. Maybe it’s about us in the plural — you, your horse and your support team.
What I’m getting at is becoming discouraged or feeling defeated from time to time is part of what this sport draws out of us. Therefore, having people cheering us on and having people that can reinforce positivity and encouragement means the world. I have had days where I thought a 5-year-old who’s never sat on a horse before could ride a more fluid and accurate dressage test. I have had days where I thought I couldn’t see a distance to save my life or days where I was so angry because I had to retire on cross country or had multiple run outs. We’ve all had those days or competitions where you almost want to pack up and drive home. Having moments like these is precisely why it is crucial to have a support team around you.
I didn’t start out with the biggest support team, let me tell you. I used to be a whiny little brat. My mom and sisters would come support me at schooling shows when I was a little kid, and if I had a bad ride or I was embarrassed, I was just miserable to them. No wonder they stopped coming to my shows. I let my riding go straight to my head and didn’t consider anyone else’s feelings. Time passed, and I (thank God) grew up. My support team started showing up again — a little hesitant in the beginning, but now they are here for me with open arms, and it’s the best feeling in the world.
My mom comes to most of my events and cheers me on no matter what. She rolls my bandages, she helps with my horses — not because she has to, but because she is part of my team. Sometimes my sisters will come and watch more from a distance, but I know they are there. My sisters are not horse people, but they love what I do, which is awesome. My dressage trainer will show up to events, jumper shows — almost anything horse related and she’s there. Of course, Denny Emerson comes to almost every single event that we all go to. He offers a tremendous amount of support.
I simply cannot imagine doing all of this on my own. It takes a whole village to raise an event rider, am I right? The stress, the anxiety, the work overload — all these feelings build, and without people there encouraging you and cheering you on seem almost unbearable, at least from my perspective. I’m not suggesting that I can’t truck my horse’s over to a show and not have anyone around to help me. I have competed countless times where the only person around to help is me, though I prefer having a support team nearby. Having people there at an event helping you out with loading, or packing or bathing is great, but it’s more about the emotional support in my opinion. Having people at competitions that are excited for you and believe in you means more to me than I can almost put into words.
Skybreaker at GMHA
