SO today didn't go quite as planned lol. She is still a little scared which is frustrating but understandable. I got in there and rode every stride out of her today and it turned out better. She is running on nervous energy and isn't relaxing yet. I wish I spoke horse to help her get her confidence up! I rode her this morning in the main ring and it went well. I was really positive going into the warm up today, but the second the braids went in later this morning and we started warming up, she knew what was coming lol. She wouldn't come round today really and didn't want to go to the contact. I really put my leg on on the short sides to keep her going forward because she wanted to suck back behind me a bit. The overall picture was better today though so it is getting better. We got 4% higher which is good and she was better through today and the test was better, but Nina was still really nervous. I think right now she is exhausted and is running on nerves which is totally understandable. Hopefully she catches up on sleep the rest of the day with her new boyfriend, Bentley :). I gave her lots of bananas and mints (her favourite).
Tom, my parents, and I are going into the shopping area in Frankfurt to do some Christmas shopping. Then tonight we have the Mayor of Frankfurt's reception for us at the City Hall. After this, we return to the hotel for the welcome reception hosted by the world cup sponsor. Should be fun! :)
Jamie I think you should be really proud of yourself, even with all the difficulties you had to deal with you still came in a very respectable 9th!
ReplyDeleteYou are getting tonnes of experience that you can apply in the many years of riding/showing you have ahead of you. Good job!
Also thank you for sharing so much information about your rides and experiences on this trip.
Jamie - The Frankfurt show, while beautiful, is a whole lot of atmosphere for both the horse and rider; I've seen it undo seasoned European combinations! Your disappointment is understandable, but it's fair for your mare to be overwhelmed (and you too) when you consider how many times has she shown in that kind of environment?
ReplyDeleteEven though it's not gone the way you may have hoped, with this opportunity you are gaining HUGE experience and education that will stay with you forever. Although we appreciate it when things go perfectly, we learn the best lessons when $h*t happens (it's just harder to take when it's in public).
You can be proud of yourself and your horse; you have shown improvement from the first to second tests! By the time the freestyle rolls around you will hopefully have your mare back.
Be a good representative for Canada, meaning just do your best and HAVE FUN with this amazing opportunity. Good luck!
Thank you everyone for your support! Nina really has been such a good girl and really tried her heart out for me this whole competition. She wouldn't have hung in there like she has for me if we didn't have such a good partnership and trust to begin with. This experience has been incredible and I wish you all could be here to experience it first hand with me because it's been amazing!
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