Three months of not being able to ride had really taken its toll and Jon’s recovery was at least another three to four months away. Many of my horsey contacts had tried to come up with possible lease prospects, since my money situation and hopes of buying another horse had quickly deteriorated during this process, but to no avail.
At my lowest point one last desperate attempt was going through my Dallas and Fort Worth Dressage Club newsletters searching for an answer. Gloriso Farms had an advertisement in the DDC newsletter. I had met Brian Griggs twice on my transition off the DDC Board, so after mustering up all my courage I gave him a call in hopes he would know of someone with a horse to lease. Within minutes of reaching Brian on the phone he told me that I was “the answer to his prayers”, he had two green fillies that he needed to have handled and ridden, and to come out that Saturday to try them out and see if I liked them!
Well, Saturday could not get here fast enough! An opportunity to just ride an Andalusian was more than I could ever have hoped for. My confidence level for those of you that know me is not the best, so thoughts of riding two green horses was also foremost on my mind. I made a list of the qualified dressage trainers in the area and gave them to Brian as an alternative. He insisted that was not what he wanted for his fillies and to go ahead and come out. Now I had to assemble all my courage and try to harness my total excitement.
The rest is truly a dream-come-true. Both Hacanea and Hermosa came to grace the pastures and aisles of our barn at home. Their wonderful minds constantly amaze me and have made it possible for wondrous things to happen. The mystique and wonders of the Andalusian breed are only furthered by their existence.
Brian’s plan was to show them in DDC’s Spring Show in April and the Festival of Spanish Horses in May. What lofty goals to attain (with my confidence factor), particularly since I had never ridden in front of most of the people that I volunteer with in the Dallas or Fort Worth Dressage Clubs.
Tricia Wallace at Top Line Farm started the Girls and me all out with patience and understanding. With my challenges looming ever so near, we needed constant support, so when Tricia went to Florida for a month, Lyndon Rife at Cheval Equestrian Center continued with the Girls and my progression to our first USDF Introductory tests in April.
Both Glenn, my husband, and Brad, my son, never doubted my ability to accomplish these goals. They remain my biggest fans. This coupled with the support of Brian, Cheryl Roberson (DDC President), Louisa Zai (FWDC President), and many more friends, gave me the conviction needed to take on this remarkable opportunity with a full-time job and my family.
Well, it had come time to leave for the DDC Spring Show at Las Colinas. With the trailer all packed up, Hacanea, Hermosa, and I began the journey to our first test of all our hard work. Jane Savoie’s tape number 1 was playing as I remembered her seminar last year saying that “Attitude is Everything”. My excitement was almost uncon- trollable, so I gave Louisa a call from my cellular phone to share my enthusiasm before I burst! She had truly been a main stay in my support structure though this entire marvelous adventure. Her reassuring words of encourage- ment and excitement made me remain focused on my goal.
Another welcomed face was seen as we pulled in to Las Colinas. Waving me to the curb was Cheryl Roberson. Now another issue was magically resolved as she helped unload the Girls and took us to our stalls only a few steps away before the impending storm clouds unloaded on us. The Girls ate their dinner to the sound of rain from a thunderstorm that only minutes before had spawned a tornado a few miles away.
With the passing of the storm, the next order of the day was to ride both Hacanea and Hermosa in the arena to get them used to their surroundings in preparation for the show the next day. After working Hermosa out of her spookiness from the Dallas Dressage Club wall sign that hung close to the arena, both girls were given their treats and bedded down for the night.
When I arrived home, my excitement could still not be contained. Waking up Glenn I related my exploits of the day and told him that if Hacanea was on like she was that night, we would win first place. Glenn slipped back into his slumbered state uttering words of affirmation while Jane Savoie’s words from her tape kept coming back to me “If you can dream it, you can do it!”.
The day of the show finally was here and my four ride times for the two classes were within a little more than an hour. Switching horses and tack would be a feat, but Brian had found someone to help with the tack change making things a little less stressful. Once we began at least I would not have time to get any more nervous than I was already!
Hacanea was my first ride and as we entered for our minute warm-up I told her “It is just you and me. Let’s show everyone what we can do!”. As with everyone, a million thoughts kept running though my mind as we rode our test, keep this leg straight, flex her this way, put your leg on now, stay in the corner, trot out, relax, breathe! What seemed like an eternity and yet only a minute, my test was over and we had done it! A long-time goal of riding a USDF test in a recognized show had been accomplished. We trotted out to the cheers, smiles, hugs, and support of many friends and family. I was shaking so badly I was not sure if I could stand up when I dismounted, but knew I had to since Hermosa’s ride was only minutes away. Hermosa was up next. As we trotted on the long side, the DDC sign once again looked threat-ening and made her veer off course, but the rest of the test felt good. As we exited the arena, the cheers from our support group once again reached my ears. I was on Cloud 9 and thoughts of scores had not even entered my mind. Just before entering my second class, I was told we had scored a First Place (Hacanea) and Third Place (Hermosa) in the first class. First? It was absolutely incom-prehensible ... a Blue Ribbon!
The next class went even better with Hermosa getting a First and Hacanea getting a Second. Arriving early the next morning we found out that we had also won High Point with a score of 65 on Hacanea and Championship (due to my age). This was better than any dream I could have had!
The second day of the show we came away with a First (Hermosa), two Fifths and a Sixth. One of our Fifths was with a score of 66.8 winning the Vintage Champion-ship on the second day, too! My son loved the idea of all the ribbons and mugs! He even told Brian that next year I would be riding 4th Level! Now that is a true fan!
Less than three weeks remained until our next goal. Brian had organized the May 5th Festival of Spanish Horses for the International Andalusian and Lusitano Horse Association. Hermosa and I were entered in the three rail classes, Open, Amateur, and Junior Horse. This was again another enormous challenge, since Lyndon and I had not worked on the Girls canter at all until after the DDC show.
Brian told me that when we went in for the first class to just stay in the arena, since all three classes were back-to- back. The Open class had two beautiful stallions in it, one of which did not want to go forward, but backward. We spent most of the class circling to avoid any confrontation since Hermosa was sure he wanted to run over her! When they asked for the canter depart from a walk I was almost panic stricken since we had not worked on that at all. She did well and we came out with a First Place Blue Ribbon! The second class was Amateur and this time when the judge told me that Hermosa had a good frame for hunter, I knew we had a chance to place well. Tears welled up in my eyes when they announced we had another First Place. Trying to retain my composure we stayed in the arena while I walked her to cool her out.
One more class and we were finished with our riding classes. Never had we cantered this much. I knew she was tired, particularly when they asked for the canter the first time in the Junior Horse Class and she started bucking. Some-how I managed to stay on and urged her forward. We were in luck and behind the judge. I was just hoping she had not turned around when the little boy in the crowd exclaimed “Oh, Mom, look at that!”. Well, luck was on our side! We amazingly had another First Place. Hermosa had qualified for Nationals in all three classes! She also went on to win Reserve Champion Mare in halter. She is not only talented, but also beautiful!
This has been my dream-come-true. Hope you have been able to see how it was made achievable by my association and support with both clubs, Dallas and Fort Worth. Being a volunteer for both it seems we never have enough people to actually support the clubs and their activities. Getting involved really does have its perks and I am here to prove it!!!!