One More Day Until Departure!

When I first got the news that I would be representing Canada at FEI Young Rider World Cup in Germany this December, I felt like jumping up and down like a little kid. Determining who would go to Germany as the Canadian representative for the YR World Cup basically came down to the North American Championships. Two of my fellow teammates, Amy Jager and Megan Lane, were also putting up consistently good scores throughout the summer, and Fleurina (aka "Nina") and I were constantly challenged to stay on our A-game. Luckily, our hard work and dedication paid off, and Nina and I came out of the North American Championships with a team silver, individual bronze, and individual freestyle gold medal, securing ourselves as Canada's World Cup representatives. Competing in the YR World Cup has been a goal of mine since I was a junior rider. When I found out Nina and I were ranked fourth overall going into this competition, I was shocked, ecstatic, and filled with a sense of purpose. This competition will be our first debut onto the international competition scene, and I couldn't be more thrilled with how things are starting off.

I have to give a big thank you to my mom and dad who have been organizing this whole trip, as I am still a full time university student at McMaster University. In addition to training full time with Nina and being enrolled in university, I am a student sport medicine therapist for the McMaster Men's Varsity Football team. Therefore, these last 3 months have been extremely chaotic, with not a lot of time left to plan this trip. So a big thank you mom and dad!

Unfortunately, I am unable to travel with Nina to Germany because I have to write a final exam on Wednesday morning. I am lucky that my coach, Tom Dvorak, is able to fly with her and make sure she gets to Germany safely. Nina will be shipping with Meagan Davis' horse, Bentley, on Tuesday. Meagan is the US representative. I will meet up with everyone in Frankfurt, Germany when I fly over Wednesday night after my final exam.

To prepare for this competition, I have been working with my personal trainer, Kendra Olsen, doing a lot of cross fit workouts to prepare physically. Additionally, I have been working with Sport Psychologist, Dana Sinclair, from Human Performance International since my first year at Juniors to make sure I am mentally prepared. With the help of my coach, Tom Dvorak, Nina and I have been riding through tests and working on tightening everything up. Nina has been amazing these last few weeks!!! It is really exciting knowing that going into this competition, Nina keeps giving me another level every day.

Okay, time to go back to studying :(. My next post will be from Frankfurt, Germany and I will hopefully have some pictures of Germany!!!! SO EXCITED!!!