Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
Without mothers, most of us probably wouldn't have been able to indulge the horse bug. As such, our moms deserve extra thanks on their special day! I am blessed to have two moms, and both of them found ways to help me be with horses. My first mom was born into an equine loving family. Three of her brothers became farriers, and her mom eventually boarded horses and gave riding lessons. When I was very young, my mom would drive us pretty regularly to visit Grandma and Grandpa. If I was lucky, Grandma would have time to give me a lesson on Sissy. And even when I didn't get to ride, I still loved watching her ride or just hanging out with the horses. Now that I am an adult and have my own horses, my mom still loves hearing about my riding adventures. As you know, most of our friends and family go into a boredom coma when we prattle on about this show or that lesson. Not my mom, she thinks I'm the world's best rider, despite my efforts to convince her otherwise. While my mom doesn't live close enough to go to shows, she has made a huge effort to go to several. She also loves to buy me tack and other horse related stuff. She helped me buy one of my endurance saddles, my Stübben bridle, and a host of other ooh, wouldn't that be nice to own items. My stepmom was just as horse crazy as a kid. She and her sister saved their money and bought their first horse together before she was even tall enough to bridle him. I think his name was Duster. I've heard many stories about his shenanigans, he was part Arab, as well as tales about Misty, her second horse. When I first met my stepmom (I think I was eight), she still had Misty, so I got to ride her at least once. Misty passed shortly after, so my horse crazy stepmom was horseless. That didn't stop her from helping me though. When I moved in with my dad at age twelve, she used her connections to find me a lovely little Welsh/Morgan cross named Sunshine. There were other horses while I was growing up, but I think I had the most fun on Sunny. One summer I got the wild idea to run for rodeo queen. I would ride the school bus into Garberville, the biggest town in my part of the county, sell raffle tickets, and then my stepmom would pick me up after work and drive me home. She was also the one who took me to the contestants' dinner. My dad didn't mind the horses, but he wasn't exactly a willing participant either. I know it was my step mom who did a lot of behind the scenes maneuvering to make sure that I got to keep my horses. While I didn't have the typical horse show mom experience that many kids had, I did have two moms who who loved me and worked hard to put horses in my life. And while horse show moms are great, I think it's far better to have two horse-loving moms as an adult. Adulthood lasts a lot longer than childhood!
Happy Mother's Day to two very wonderful moms. I love you both! Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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