After a long hiatus from showing due to COVID-19, what better way to jump into horse shows than my first equitation final? All jokes aside, I was ecstatic to be able to compete in the Gladstone Cup this year and get my first equitation final under my belt. I was lucky to be able to continue riding through quarantine since I am an employee of Thumbs Up Farm so I felt fit and more than ready to get back in the ring. No doubt I was nervous about this show, I hadn’t shown in eight months, and this would be only my second time showing in California.
Nerves aside, I drove down to Sonoma with my mom on Wednesday to find our horses stabled in a quiet, shady corner of the showgrounds, perfect for the mid-day heat. I was intimidated at first by the size of the grounds but after the first few days of exploring, I became more comfortable and relaxed. This show was different than most not only because of the COVID protocol but also that there were only four horses so we were all able to get quality one-on-one time with our trainer. The warm-up days came and went and I did the two warm-up classes with Wesley to get into the Grand Prix ring before the Gladstone. Initially, I was worried about how spooky the jumps were and Wesley may hesitate at them but he proved me very wrong by confidently jumping everything without batting an eye. Him being so good and so ride-able gave me a boost of confidence going into the class on Friday.
Friday came, the big day of the class and I went middle of the order for the Gladstone, perfect. I was able to watch a handful of rounds and see how the course rode before getting on. I liked the course a lot, it was more of a hunter style course since this was a hunt-seat medal so there was nothing too tricky which I appreciate. I got on and could feel the nerves creeping in but I knew I had nothing to worry about, my horse was schooled and I was prepared for this class. We warmed up well, we didn’t need too many jumps before feeling ready to head in to the ring so off to the gate we went. At this point I was really feeling the nerves, I don’t know what it was, I am typically a confident rider but the combination of it being our first show back and an equitation final in California was getting to me.
We walked into the class and picked up our canter to the first jump, single oxer off the right lead, a weak spot for us. We found the jump well and continued the course, finding all of the jumps relatively well. I came out of the round relieved and happy with my round, my horse was awesome and I felt like I rode well. We made it into the handy round! The course for the handy round was a lot of fun and we walked in confidently, I was less nervous than before. The course went well, I was short out of one line, causing me to be long out of the next line but other than that I was happy. We didn’t get a ribbon but I was thrilled with how it went, Wesley was phenomenal and I couldn’t have asked better from him. We finished the weekend by doing the junior hunters since it was open to anyone this year. We had a whole lot of fun in Sonoma this weekend and I’m excited for the next week of showing!
Also a BIG shout out to barn-mate Emily Steckler! She was Overall Grand 3’3” Junior Hunter Champion and Older 3’3” Junior Hunter Champion with her mare Wonderland!! SO thrilled for you Emily! Thank you to everyone who made this weekend happen including Quinn Partridge, Efrain Gandara, John Turner, and my mom! Can’t wait for what’s to come!