Inspiring News
Today on the news I saw that a 16-year-old girl from right here in Idaho has qualified to go to the Rolex Invitational this year in Kentucky. This competition is one of the final steps in qualifying for the Olympics; in fact many of her competitors at the event will be Olympic riders. Few 16-year-olds are able to compete at equivilant levels in any sport that I can think of, so I find this very exciting.
The compitition is Three-Day-Eventing which consists of a day of Dressage, in which every movement of the horse is judged as it performs dance-like routines to the invisible cues from the rider. The second day is the Cross-Country portion, timed, over a four-mile course of solid obstacles and water hazards. The final day is Stadium Jumping where the pair completes a course of jumps within an enclosed arena.
To complete the event in decent shape requires immense bravery, stamina, and heart. To win at any of the higher levels is unimaginable to me. But my favorite part of the story is the story of the pair themselves. The horse is a Thoroughbred ex-racehorse, purchased as a claimer. Horses are entered into claiming races often as a quick and easy way for the owner to dispose of the animal. They go to the highest better, basically; and like many racehorses, often don't amount to much unless they are lucky enough to get picked up by someone who understands them and can do something with them. This gelding was lucky. The girl was homeschooled so she could spend her time training the horse and I guess it payed off!
All of this struck me because:
A: I did some Three-Day-Eventing in college but found it too grueling, so I switched to
Hunter/Jumper.
B: I was homeschooled from third grade to ninth.
C: My husband and I basically run his parent's breeding operation and everyday I work with
Thoroughbreds that are either off the track, or bound for the track or competition arena.
I know many of the backyard pet horse enthusiasts will find this all utterly boring but I maintain that the more we know about the horse world at large, the better prepared we will be to help make horse industry related decisions in the future. For all of those who can compete at the top levels, more power to them and thank you on behalf of all the obscure smaller horse people living vicariously through your adventures!
The compitition is Three-Day-Eventing which consists of a day of Dressage, in which every movement of the horse is judged as it performs dance-like routines to the invisible cues from the rider. The second day is the Cross-Country portion, timed, over a four-mile course of solid obstacles and water hazards. The final day is Stadium Jumping where the pair completes a course of jumps within an enclosed arena.
To complete the event in decent shape requires immense bravery, stamina, and heart. To win at any of the higher levels is unimaginable to me. But my favorite part of the story is the story of the pair themselves. The horse is a Thoroughbred ex-racehorse, purchased as a claimer. Horses are entered into claiming races often as a quick and easy way for the owner to dispose of the animal. They go to the highest better, basically; and like many racehorses, often don't amount to much unless they are lucky enough to get picked up by someone who understands them and can do something with them. This gelding was lucky. The girl was homeschooled so she could spend her time training the horse and I guess it payed off!
All of this struck me because:
A: I did some Three-Day-Eventing in college but found it too grueling, so I switched to
Hunter/Jumper.
B: I was homeschooled from third grade to ninth.
C: My husband and I basically run his parent's breeding operation and everyday I work with
Thoroughbreds that are either off the track, or bound for the track or competition arena.
I know many of the backyard pet horse enthusiasts will find this all utterly boring but I maintain that the more we know about the horse world at large, the better prepared we will be to help make horse industry related decisions in the future. For all of those who can compete at the top levels, more power to them and thank you on behalf of all the obscure smaller horse people living vicariously through your adventures!
posted by Alicia T @ 8:37 PM
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