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…
Posts
The Friend I Found Between the Dressage Arena and Start Box
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…
What a ground pole course reveals about my riding
A line of ground poles looks innocent enough. There are no jumps to clear, no bright fillers, no water complex, and no dramatic moment that makes everyone…
The art of praising my horse after a tough round
There is a moment after every difficult round when I have to decide what my horse will remember. The rails may be down, the dressage test may have felt…
How I maintain focus during a rain-soaked event
Rain changes an event long before the first horse enters the arena. It alters the footing, the warm-up routine, the condition of the tack, the way a horse sees…