Today we’d like to welcome Mikaela Kantorowski, our Junior Guest Blogger for this summer. She will be checking in as a working student for Jan Byyny at Surefire Farm in Virginia. I also did my first time as a working student when I was 16, and it was an experience that shaped my life forever. Thank you for writing, Mikaela, and thank you for reading.
ioooo
Mikaela and Text at the Virginia Horse Trials. Photos by Jacqueline Larouche.
Hey Eventing Nation! My name is Mikaela Kantorowski and I am from Southern Pines North Carolina. I am 16 and go to school full time here in Southern Pines, a rising senior, and I am your typical horse crazy eventing teenager. Six months ago I acquired my current mount whom I love to death. His name is “Text” and he was formerly owned by Eric Dierks who took him to the two star level. That in itself was a little daunting and to add to the fact that he is 17 hands made it a little more but we have created a great partnership, even if still a little new, and had a great spring season.
My home for the summer will be at Jan Byyny’s wonderful Surefire Farm. Here in Southern Pines, I train with Bobby Costello and I’ve competed up to training with my former horse. One main goal for the summer is to make the move back up successfully. I would love to improve every aspect of my riding. We spent the spring season at novice really trying to build our partnership so it will be easier to move up the levels later on and make sure there are no major holes. Our hardest phase– or really my hardest phase is show jumping because I don’t have the strongest position over fences and sometimes don’t trust myself. But we have been doing some jumper shows and my performance is getting more consistent and stronger with each ride. Also sometimes Text has a liverpool phobia so we will be jumping all the liverpools we can find this summer.
At my last event, the Virginia Horse TriaIs, I unfortunately had one rail at the last fence, but it was one of the best rounds on him and really showed our hard work is paying off. His dressage was great and he cruised around cross country in typical Text style! The weekend as a whole was a very good experience and the courses were challenging. Huge shout out to my Young Rider Team Challenge teammates Jacqueline Larouche and Eliza Granger, as well as our other add-on Maxine Preston for a great competition and to come out 2nd out of 15 teams! Not to bad for a last-minute team, y’all rock!
I am leaving for Jan Byyny’s wonderful Surefire Farm on the 8th of June (which is Friday ahhh!) and cannot wait. It’s all about getting the last minute details done right now. I plan to compete at least twice while I am in Virginia and the first being Surefire Farm Horse Trials, of course, since it’s at Jan’s farm. I would love to be able to take advantage of doing the PRO riders junior training level scholarship and make it my first event back at training level. Then we will hopefully go to Maryland Horse Trials 2 and get another run in at training before I leave for Young Riders as I am grooming for the Area II Team this year. Being able to travel over the summer is such an exciting opportunity for me and I look forward to sharing all my adventures with everyone here at Eventing Nation!! I was able to talk with Jan at the Virginia Horse Trials and she was so nice. I also met some more of the girls I will be working with. This will be my first time being gone completely for the summer and I look forward to learning a ton and meeting new people. Being in such a happening horse area will be amazing and I actually look forward to the 5 am wake up calls and the long days in the barn! Today I had my last hack and gallops on the big guy, and my last two days home entail some dressage and LOTS of packing. I still can’t believe the summer is upon us and I leave in two short days! Hopefully the next blog will be from Surefire Farm!
Go Summer and Go Eventing!!! -Mikaela & Text
