Tate and Megan have begun their adventure to the U.K., and I am sitting here (while I should be packing!) thinking that in exactly 30 days, whatever is going to happen in Europe will have happened. Time is a funny thing, in that I feel like it was just a few minutes ago when I was writing a blog about entering Rolex, and now here I am about to spend the next month in England preparing for the Land Rover Burghley CCI****.
I read two quotes today that made me take a breath and just enjoy the moment. One said, “No matter how good or bad a situation is, it will change.” And the other said, “Over-prepare, then go with the flow.”
In April I was highest placed American at Rolex, and yesterday I found myself looking up from the ground at a youngster who put my butt in the dirt quicker than I had time to realize what was happening. I even surprised myself when I laughed.
The jump judges were trying to figure out what was wrong with me and why I was sitting where I landed just having a laugh at myself. I don’t think they realized I had also had a very similar fall on the first horse I rode that day.
The second intermediate horse was great, and then, oops! A run-out had caught me out on the third horse. To tell you the truth, I was almost relieved. Things have been going so smoothly with not just Tate but all the horses in the barn, and with that first quote above in mind, somewhere in my head I was waiting for something to alter the current seamless operation of S.H.E.
Both horses are good horses, just green, and I felt like they were prepared, but somethings you just can’t plan. So I came back to the barn and said to my horse’s owner, Wendy Furlong, “Well what do we do?”
ADVERTISEMENT
I was eager to make a plan so I could get on with fixing instead of focusing on what just happened. But she looked at me and laughed and said, “Go home, have a glass of wine and chalk this up to experience.”
So that’s what I did. I thought about what I would have done differently, and honestly there wasn’t much. But I can think of 10 things I’ll do next time after learning a bit more about the nature of these two characters!
I drove home a bit sore and picked up the phone and called my great friend Lynn Symansky to congratulate her on jumping her Pan Am hopeful Donner around his first advanced at Millbrook clear. We chatted excitedly about her day, then she asked me about mine, and both of us were laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation within seconds.
Then I got a text from Rebecca Howard asking if I was OK. I texted back one word: “Ooooops,” and then sent another text that Foxy had been awesome. She sent back a message saying “Well, that’s why you have a few!”
Around this time is when it hit me how important it is to just to appreciate and enjoy all of the experiences the eventing life brings. I’m fine, the horses are just fine, and because of this crazy sport, I have some of the funniest friends as well as some stories that make you have to laugh, cry or both!
After the tragedies that have occurred for the True Prospect Farm crew this year, I keep checking in with myself to make sure I keep focused on what’s important. I’m very competitive and strive to be the best I can possibly be. But it’s important to enjoy the stories that write the book.
ADVERTISEMENT
This weekend left me with a funny story and a sore hip. I’ll work to achieve success with both these horses and look forward to looking back to laugh again about this weekend.
I’m so excited for my trip to England with Tate. I’m appreciating every day how lucky I am to be in the place I am with this lovely horse. There are some amazing people surrounding our team that have already made this trip so colourful, and we haven’t even left the United States yet!
I look forward to competing against the best of the best in the U.K. and seeing how we stack up. My horse and I are fit, sound and well prepared… Now the hard part—to go with the flow!
Sinead
