A cross-country runout can feel enormous in the moment. The horse has left the line, the rider is suddenly outside the planned route, and every second seems to…
Posts
How to Recover from a Cross-Country Runout
What My Grand Prix Rider Friend Taught Me About Basics
There is a particular kind of magic in watching a Grand Prix rider school a horse. The movements look polished, the decisions seem immediate, and every…
The day my horse knew better than I did
There are moments in eventing when a horse teaches you something so clearly that you cannot explain it away as luck, instinct, or a conveniently good result.…
The Friend I Found Between the Dressage Arena and Start Box
Horse trials are usually described through their visible milestones: the score in dressage, the rails in show jumping, the time on cross-country, and the final…
Why the smell of cross-country ribbons stays with me
There are plenty of smells that belong to eventing: damp saddle leather, freshly turned arena footing, liniment warming beneath a horse’s coat, and the sweet,…
How I Prepare for a Dressage Test with Music
A dressage test set to music begins long before I enter the arena. The final soundtrack may be what spectators notice, but the real preparation is a mixture of…
The Blue Ribbon I Carried Home
The first blue ribbon I won felt impossibly important. It was light in my hand, a little wrinkled from being handled too often, and attached to a result I had…
The moment I knew eventing would be my lifelong sport
There was no single cinematic instant when I decided eventing would become part of my identity. No brass band, no perfect round watched from the rail, and no…
How I handle jealousy when other riders place higher
Jealousy is an uncomfortable emotion to admit in any sport, and eventing gives it plenty of opportunities to appear. I can feel thrilled for a friend who has…
Why I thank my grooms after every show
At the end of a horse trial, people usually notice the final score, the ribbon, the clear rounds, or the mistake that changed everything. I notice those things…