Jessica Bortner-Harris wrote a great article for EN two weeks ago about riding in her very first advanced at Southern Pines. The article was a big hit and Jessica generously agreed to continue to write for us about her first season at advanced. Take a look at the photos and videos, Bug can flat out jump! For more info on Jessica check out her website here. If you have a story to share, send it to [email protected].
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All pics and video are courtesy of Jordan Lambert
By Jessica Bortner-Harris:
Now that I have reached this milestone in my career, I think back to all of the “forks in the road” that I have come to with Bug. When you are trying to obtain your dreams, you come to these places where you have to decide how determined you are and what is best for you and your horse. The first big decision was the move up from Training to Prelim. At the time, I was riding with Kim Severson. She told me that I needed to commit to it if I was going to do it. It wasn’t something to take lightly. That winter, I lost 70 pounds and got fit. I figured that if my horse had to be fitter and jump bigger, than I needed to show him that I was just as dedicated. Kim got Bug and I through our first CCI** at Jersey Fresh last spring, which brought me to another fork. Unfortunately, I live 4.5 hours from Kim, so getting lessons was a difficult undertaking. I learned so much from her, but at that point, I decided if I wanted to be truly competitive at this level, then I needed to find someone closer. I needed a constant eye on the ground. I found Bonnie Mosser. Seeing Bonnie on an almost weekly basis made a HUGE improvement in Bug and I. I believe my FINAL score at the CCI** at Fairhill was LESS than my DRESSAGE score at Jersey. Since Southern Pines, I have to keep pinching myself. This horse, that I brought along myself, and I are living my dream!
All of these forks brought me to THE FORK this past weekend. This has always been one of my favorite places to compete, as the facility is amazing. Bug and I arrived on Thursday afternoon, as our dressage ride was early Friday morning. Bonnie and I had really been working hard on the dressage, as that is our weakest link. Luckily, I seemed to have an epiphany during my last dressage lesson with her. One CAN ride with your arms separated from your shoulders! Amazing. Unfortunately, we did not have the best weather for our dressage test Friday morning, but Bug didn’t seem to care too much. The beginning of our test was so good for us. His trotwork was so much freer and relaxed. We got 7’s on our medium trots and extended trot! Bug’s walk had a lot to be desired, as he was on the verge of jigging for most of it, so I couldn’t push him really forward. This also led to a very tense canter. However, even with the last half of the test being less than par for us, we still scored a 41.9! That is almost 5 points better than we scored at SP2, with less than 2 weeks of work. I was definitely happy. Yes, there is always more to work on but baby steps, right? Oh, and the best news, we weren’t in last place for once! We were sitting in 23rd place going into XC.
I know SP2 caused a lot of issues for others, but after walking the XC at The Fork with Bonnie, I was sure that it was a much more technical, “thinking” type of course. I was going to be on my toes for the whole course. I had an afternoon ride time, so I got to watch the CIC*** go around first. It helped to go out and chat with some of the other riders who have been doing this a lot longer than me! Listening to them analyze each ride and decide what was best for their horses was very educational. I had a plan in my head, and I was ready to execute! Bug was absolutely AMAZING out there. He answered every question like it was nothing. We even got held on course, a first for me, and he picked right back up where he had left off. This horse of mine is truly awe inspiring. He beasted around the course with only 6.8 time penalties and recovered like it was nothing. I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face for the rest of the evening. There is nothing like riding this horse. He makes you feel like you have wings and can conquer anything. When the results were posted, I realized that I had moved up from 23rd to 9th! Holy cow! I was texting Bonnie to keep her in the loop, and when I told her, she said, “I’m so excited! Keep your head in the game.”
I have heard people talk of the Sunday nerve, but I have never had to encounter it. I know I was only in 9th, but to me, that was HUGE. I wanted to have a great SJ round and, at the very least, hold on to my top 10 placing. Bonnie and I walked the course Sunday morning and planned every turn. It was a tough course, because you had to keep your horse moving, even as you were balancing through tough turns. I knew that it was the type of course that Bug could eat up. I just had to remember to keep riding and not freeze up. I got a bit discombobulated at the first fence, as I saw the long one, and Bug did too. The old me would have freaked out and just kept riding worse and worse. The new me sucked it up, gathered my reins back, and put it all back together to finish a great round! We jumped clear with one second over time! (which probably happened at my first fence debacle) I was elated!
Due to some others having a few issues, I ended up moving up to finish in 7th place! We got a big, beautiful purple ribbon and a victory gallop! Seriously?!?!? Our second Advanced?!?!? I’m still on Cloud 9! People kept congratulating me and saying, “This was your second Advanced? Ever?!?!” I still can’t believe it.
I thank God every day for my ABSOLUTELY one of a kind horse!! I am also so thankful for my amazing parents, family, friends, and newly acquired fan club. All of the support has been so amazing. I also have to put in a shameless plug for my sponsor, Snider’s Elevator (www.sniderselevator.com), for taking a chance on an up and comer. I appreciate everything everyone has done for Bug and I! I hope that we can keep making everyone proud. Also, Bug wanted everyone to know that he has his own page on FB (Win the War) for anyone interested in following his day to day posts.
Our next stop is the CIC*** at Fairhill!! We are taking things one event at a time, but dare I say, we are hoping to do the CCI*** at Bromont in June?!?
