Once again, it is time to meet a fellow member of our Eventing Nation. To see previous rider profiles, click on “Rider Profiles” in the Categories sidebar. These features have been interesting and insightful– I am continually impressed and humbled by our readers as the emails keep pouring in. You guys rock!
If you would like to be featured in an upcoming profile, please fill out the Questionnaire and email it to [email protected]. Thanks again to all our participants…there are more profiles to post, and hopefully we will get to yours soon!
FEATURED RIDER
Name: Amy
Age: 23
Location: Connecticut
Primary horse’s name: Discotrax – barn name “Dee”
Age, breed, pertinent info:
4y/o TB mare, came off track last year. I bought her in December, gave her most of the winter off, and started really working with her this spring. I’ve now jumped her twice, and she has yet to put a foot wrong! She seems very brave and pretty cute over the fences.
Level currently competing: Not competing quite yet!
Short term goals this spring/summer: Get her out cross-country schooling, go to a schooling dressage show and maybe a horse show to canter around some show jump courses.
Year-end goals: We’re aiming to go BN at a few events this fall.
Overall goals?
I would love for this mare to go Preliminary one day! I’ve had a series of unfortunate events with my last few horses, and haven’t gotten to do anything other than one BN (in 2008) since 2005, so I would really love to have a horse that I can get back into the competition game with.
What’s the best thing you’ve learned recently?
I’ve got one hip higher than the other, and it has always created a problem for me in the right lead canter (it’s very hard to get myself moving with the horse). I finally had a trainer tell me to get off and ‘canter’ on my ‘left lead’. After I did that a bit she said ‘now, that feeling you have in your hips now is what I want you to go for on the horse’. It sounds weird, but it worked. Now whenever I’m feeling stuck, I do a little ‘canter’.
Favorite eventing moment/story?
I was at Old Chatham, going training. My little mare misread a table going light-dark (later learned that she was rapidly going blind in one of her eyes, which explained it) and left early, sort of landing on the table with her front feet. I ended up coming off and the horse went off galavanting. However, she very kindly presented herself at the announcer’s booth and allowed herself to be caught! While the weekend was a huge disappointment, that still gives me a good laugh.
Link to blog or website, if applicable: dancefloormetaphor.blogspot.com
