Eventful Acres, here I come!

May 14th & 15th is now the much anticipated weekend. I've been waiting my whole life to go do this, and the excitement is double because I've trained this mare myself! I guess really its twofold, I'm proud of doing all the work, and afraid because... I did all the work!!!

That's not so say I've done it alone. My dressage trainer has been so very good at getting the most out of me, which never fails to get the most out of Lola. I know that we've got a ton of work ahead of us still, but really we have come so far when I step back and look at it.

We will be making our eventing debut at "Elementary" level. I am sad to not be going beginner novice, but the winter set us back so much more than I expected. I want this to be a positive experience for both of us. I'd rather kick butt at a level we're confident about than survive the level I know she's capable of.

I've started jumping lessons with a young eventing rider just minutes down the road. (I had been trying to do lessons with a rider who trains and competes horses at very high levels, but with her competition schedule and her full training clients, it was almost impossible to find a time that worked for both of us!) This new place is a) convenient- only 2 miles down the road, b) just my style- I really just need beginner drills to hone the basics for both of us, c) much easier to get scheduled! I've done two lessons so far, with a third scheduled Monday. She's got at least one rider also going to the same event, so I'm hoping to get to tag along for a schooling day the weekend before. The plan would be to get a good feel for the course we'll be riding while also schooling a few of the beginner novice jumps to know what we're getting ourselves into!

I'm excited and nervous. I think we'll do well, but being my first event, I have to admit I feel a little lost. I'm certainly not a novice rider, and horse show nerves are nothing new to me. Its just that I'm entering a new world that I'm not that familiar with. Its exciting none the less, and seeing as I can only justify this entry fee because of a decent tax refund, I'm going to enjoy the heck out of the experience. Who knows how long until it will happen again!