Road to Rebecca, Presented by Bieman de Haas: Pack Everything!

We're excited to follow along with Bieman de Haas sponsored rider Holly Jacks-Smither on her journey to Montana to compete More Inspiration in The Event at Rebecca Farm CCI3*. Joining her on this adventure are sisters Ella and Eva Marquis who are competing in the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships. Today we hear from Ella and Eva and learn about the challenges of preparing for a two-week long trip with horses. Thanks for writing ladies and thanks for reading!

Ella and Eva Marquis with Holly Jacks-Smither at Rocking Horse.

Our adventure begins with the horses finally on route to Montana for NAJYRC as of Thursday, July 13th. Preparing for this day was extremely stressful especially since this is our first competition where we’ll be away from home for this long–almost two weeks!

Being quite a ways from home, a 36-hour drive, made us even more nervous and determined not to forget anything. You can’t exactly run home to get something! I’m sure that when we arrive we will both realize what we have forgotten but it’s all part of the experience. Although packing was nerve-wracking and took a while, it sure was a relief to see everything organized and ready to be loaded onto the trailer.

This leads us to the horses’ shipping day when the nerves and excitement really started to build! The day began with a nice morning ride, then to getting the horses ready for their long journey. Excitement led to boredom as the shipping rig was running a couple of hours late, but when it pulled in to the farm there was a collective sigh from everyone. This was going to happen!

Eva and Lurch at Ocala International.

The driver looked at the pile of trunks and gear and remarked that everything should fit easily. Then we told him that pile was only for two of six riders and the rest was over there! No worries. They were Tetris masters.  The storage pod at the front of the rig swallowed trunk after trunk until everyone’s gear and other necessities for the trip disappeared into the beast. Believe us, it was a lot!

Then it was the horses’ turn to be loaded which ran smoothly for Polly, aka Meadowbrooks Pollyanna, and Lurch, aka Hollywood. The box stalls were quite spacious and they could easily turn around. This was their first time in one of these rigs and they seemed happy being there side-by-side and maybe even a little excited! The fact that Holly was traveling with the horses and would be there for them if anything was needed gave us great comfort.

They headed off into the night. It was our turn to pack and head to the airport. We will see you in Montana!

Ella and Eva Montana bound from Toronto in their snazzy BR and Ontario Young Rider back packs.