Search Site

February 22nd, 2024 Something that I have been very excited to watch the progress of is Sophie's form over jumps. It has always been the phase that has felt the strongest for both of us since we became a team, but the progress that we have made within it has grown exponentially over the last several months. As a self-titled 'experienced amateur', I can absolutely feel when we are jumping flat versus when we are jumping well. Sure, Sophie often can get the job done and jump the jumps, but these days I have been focusing a lot on our form so that hopefully we can sneak in a few clear rounds this upcoming season and continue to get the job done and get it done well. Our tendency during a course is to start strong, and then get flat and long as the course goes on. This typically results in us being good for one rail. Usually it begins with Sophie feeling quite powerful and strong a few jumps in, and I (incorrectly) resort to pulling instead of pushing her into the bridle to get her to come back to me. Here are two pics of Sophie jumping over a similarly sized vertical. Spot the difference(s)?! I have been fortunate to have had several great jump trainers and clinic'd with some great jump riders over the years, but the phrase I always come back to is Tim Bourke describing the horse as being a bouncing ball underneath you. The idea is that you can shrink or expand the height of the bounce, but you can keep the same rhythm and energy. This applies to the horses: you can change the length of stride by correctly moving the energy up and down, instead of thinking of it as a forward/backward, faster/slower motion. It's bigger/smaller. Faster/slower implies a depletion of quality energy. I really think that a lot of riders struggle with this concept, myself included. It's hard to shift from the 'pull to slow down' mindset to the 'push to make the stride smaller' action. But when I get to the right headspace and perform the correct actions, Sophie jumps phenomenally. To try to explain what I am feeling, I am going to write it as a stream of consciousness. I can only hope this translates well enough: -We are cantering towards a jump. I have my leg on, I am sitting up and looking beyond the jump, and I have a contact to the bit that my elbows are following. I am putting my leg pressure on with the thought that I am pushing her into the contact that I am holding in my moving elbows. We are about 2/3 strides out and I am focusing on the rhythm of 1...2...1...2... instead of counting the strides. (For me personally, counting the strides gets my brain feeling like we need to suddenly go slower or faster which then causes a loss of quality energy and momentum.) We jump, we land, and I keep my butt out of the tack for one stride, still with leg on for support, before I sit to apply more leg pressure to push her back up and into the contact and come back to me. I am seated but not driving. If I pull without leg, we will slow down and lose our quality energy and get flat. If I push and drive with no contact, we will get faster and flat. I also have to ask her to come back to me within her rhythm - if I work against her, we (again) will lose our momentum and canter quality. I have to think leg on, back up, having a fluid contact, moving elbows, using my abdomen to hold the contact steady with the rhythm. If she starts to speed up, I "simply" apply greater pressure from the leg into a stronger contact, using my abdomen to hold it harder. - High level professionals that do this every day on many different horses have the ability to harness this quite well. I ride Sophie, and Sophie only these days, so I have the ability to focus on working on that feeling with her specifically so that someday I might get to the point where it's muscle memory and I can apply it to future horses. The good news, like I said earlier, is that I am at a point where I can feel when I am doing it right. Now my goal is to be able to make the feeling be what I need it to be all the time and not fall back into bad habits. I have a few sample clips below: can you tell where we are flat and where we are jumping well? I'll give my thoughts underneath them. Clip A Clip B Clip C Clip D Clip A: I would describe Sophie as putting her legs up and then down. We jumped it, but it was flat, and if the fence was much bigger (and had a rail) we most likely would have clipped the rail. You can see that before the jump, I am working against her. I have some leg on, but I am driving with my seat and simultaneously pulling her head back instead of following her rhythm. You can see that her hind legs are pushing off in a way that is just a continuation of a canter stride instead of really rocking back on her haunches and pushing off the ground. This is what most of our show jumping looked like at the start of our time together. At that time, I was focused on just getting the job done instead of focusing on details of doing it well. Our scores reflect this! Clip B: This was taken just the other day. You can see the difference in her body where she pushes clearly off of both hind legs together and uses more of her head and neck upon takeoff. On the approach to the jump, I am following the contact with my elbow, and the contact is very clear. I am seated but in a relatively light manner. I am using my leg here to ask her to bring her back up to me, and I hold the contact through my abdomen to ask her to sit back a bit in front of the fence. Clip C: This was from a few years ago when we were completing a classic "Charlotte Course" (meaning something crazy, challenging and fun with whatever we had set up in the indoor), and I was clearly focused on just finding the jump instead of asking Sophie to jump with any real oomph. It's flat, her head stays up the air, I am clearly not allowing with my elbow and forearm, etc. In the moment I was most likely happy with this, but I love that I can look back on this and know how much improvement we have made and how much I have grown since. Clip D: This was from a telling jump lesson with Jan from the fall. We had been working on Sophie keeping her back up so much on the flat, and it was clearly translating to the jumping. When I can put all the pieces together, this horse has an almost unlimited scope. I really can see the power she has from this short clip - Sophie is incredible. It's moments like these that I believe those professionals who have said this horse could be competitive at the upper levels (not that I will get there myself LOL). I know it might be hard to see in the clip, but she really sits back and launches over these jumps with so much power, and uses her whole body to do so. And I am riding in a way that promotes and allows that to happen. It sounds silly, but I am actually doing less with my body than I used to, and as a result accomplishing more. Instead of pulling a lot and driving a lot and moving here there and everywhere, I am working on being steady, soft but strong, and clear when I am asking for any kind of change. I am learning to be methodical instead of reacting in the moment. I really feel good about our show jumping right now, and our little outing at the recent schooling show only helped to solidify that feeling. 2 clear rounds and a confident feeling horse (and rider!). Our first event of the season is the schooling trial at Loch Moy in March, so hopefully we can squeeze in a clear round there! K

I have not purchased a pair of breeches other than KMA's since I put on my first pair back in the late fall of 2021. I remember when I first met Kelly, the owner of KMA Equestrian, when she came to our barn to promote these breeches she was designing. When I took a pair to try on, I noticed immediately how the material felt of such a higher quality compared to other breeches I was used to wearing at the time. I slipped them on and looked in the mirror and thought, WOW. I couldn't believe how good they looked. Beyond that, I couldn't believe how great they felt. I was hooked. It was one of those right place, right time situations. I was looking to work on my social media skills and to maybe grab some product or brand ambassadorships, and Kelly was looking for someone to help promote her products. I started helping with social media posts, photography, and in-person marketing to all of the people at my barn at the time. I would say it worked - I visited my previous barn just a few weeks ago, and majority of the riders I saw were adorned in their favorite pair of KMA breeches. Now I am a proud ambassador for this incredible brand. It is a brand that I believe in wholeheartedly, and I was so excited at the opportunity to promote it to fellow equestrians! Read on for all of the reasons I love KMA, and at the end I will provide a discount code to those interested in checking out KMA for themselves :) KMA breeches are absolute stand-out riding pants. I have never seen another product do the same thing that these do. The biggest draw to these breeches is that they are compression pants, so they stay in place all day and help fight muscle fatigue. For riders, I think both of those qualities are wildly important. For professionals and amateur riders alike, it is refreshing to not have to readjust your waistband every time you dismount. Compression materials have a lot of benefits, including greater long-term comfort, which again is something that benefits riders tremendously! Most breeches on the market are a mix between tights and regular cotton, which can be comfy at first, but wear down quickly over time. I can't tell you how many breeches I've had prior to KMA's that get saggy at the knees and around the butt even after just one ride - and that includes some of the most well-known high end breeches out there. I currently have KMA's that I first wore back in December of 2021 that still look good as new today, even after being worn and washed every week in between. Another fantastic quality of KMA breeches is the level of grip in the silicone. Whether you are a knee patch or full seat fan, the silicone is so incredibly grippy that you will feel secure in that saddle all ride long. My favorite part of the full seats are that they are super grippy without leaving marks on my saddle, which some breeches unfortunately do. It's amazing to not worry about that! Kelly has been working hard to provide riders with color options that are both fun and classic. Right now there is a wonderful selection that anyone would find exciting - from classic black and grey, to bright teal and plum tones, to breeches fit for the show ring in iconic tan and white colors - there is a perfect variety to choose from. As an event rider, I am partial to my white breeches for showing. Those breeches are a miracle in and of themselves, in my opinion. I had the hardest time finding white breeches for competition that held up over time, provided the right grip and support to traverse dressage and cross country, were comfortable, and didn't stain within 5 minutes of wear. The KMA white competition breeches changed the game for me - they covered all of my needs!! Just the other day I was searching for my older pair to wear to a schooling show, and I literally couldn't tell the difference between the pair I've had for a few years now, and the pair I got over the summer. Both are still stain-free and good as new. One other major highlight I can give to KMA breeches is their durability. I worked full time at a high level competition barn for a few months, and these breeches held up as well as I had thought they would. After a day of barn chores, riding several horses, cleaning tack, and throwing straw and hay, these breeches still looked just as they did when I put them on in the morning. They stay put around my waist, they keep me comfortable and feeling supported even after riding multiple horses and doing chores, and they fight off dirt and dust. The material makes it easy to wipe most things right off. I have yet to wear a hole in any of them! Being a small business run by a woman who is also an equestrian, Kelly cares deeply about the quality of her products. She offers a full range of sizes, and the contrast stitching and detailed piping on the breeches is phenomenally flattering. I have always been a fan of dressing well to ride, and these breeches make me feel good and look great! KMA has breeches in colors and styles available for both the every day rider, the once a week lesson rider, and the competition rider. There are also options where the logo is on the calf instead of the thigh, if riders prefer a more subtle look. Along similar lines, if riders prefer no piping, KMA has a few new colors coming soon that have no piping riders can choose from. All breeches have a sleek sock bottom (none of the old school velcro!) that sits comfortably under socks and boots. On top of the breeches, which I could seriously rave about for hours, KMA also has a line of fabulous belts! Polo belts have come soaring back into style, and KMA has a ton of great color combinations available at a much more affordable price than most polo belts on the market. The leather is soft and supple, making the belt comfortable for long-term wear. I have always had issues with leather belts being too tough and causing rubs on my hip bones, and these belts are the only ones to have pulled me out of my elastic-belt obsession. These are a lot more stylish, long-lasting, and durable! I had the opportunity to support Kelly at the KMA Equestrian booth at Equine Affaire Massachusetts in 2022, and it was so affirming hearing the first-time buyers rave over how everything felt from the first time trying them on. Most people who have purchased one pair of breeches have tended to come back for a second or more - like I said before, I haven't even thought of buying any other brand of breeches since my first pair of KMA's. In case you couldn't tell from reading this, I am down-right obsessed. I am so incredibly thankful to be supported by KMA and have the opportunity to share my love of this brand with so many others! KMA often has some amazing sales going on, so be sure to stay up-to-date and subscribe to the email list to be the first to know of great deals and new styles! There are new styles and colors dropping VERY soon - you don't want to miss out!! If you want to get a head start on your KMA collection, you can use my discount code, 'Kailyn15', at check out. If you are already a KMA fan, be sure to leave a review on the KMA website. Follow KMA Equestrian on Facebook and Instagram to make sure you never miss a sale or a new product launch. Support a woman-owned small business that has the highest quality equestrian products! K

February 12, 2024 Sophie and I made an appearance at a local schooling dressage show yesterday. We've been doing a lot of solid flatwork practice at home, and I have been feeling really great about how it has all been coming along. It was nice to have the opportunity to put that practice into performance! Our trip took us over to Bascule farm in Maryland, and their lovely facility boasts two sizable indoor arenas; one for warm-up, and one for show. It was extra convenient to have a roof over our heads the whole time especially since the rain was scattering on and off all day. Soph was pretty tense as soon as we stepped into the warm up, and I spent a fair amount of time at the walk trying to get us both to relax. For those of you that have seen us at a competition, you know that we often get into fights as soon as we head down the first centerline. Sophie gets tense, I get tense, and then it's just a battle for power. I have been trying to reframe my flatwork to focus on her relaxation and acceptance of the bit in a more natural way instead of us warring over who is in charge. Our walk warm up consists of mini transitions within the walk, some lateral work, and a lot of turns on the haunches and forehand. Sophie carries her tension in her neck and her shoulders, so I try to break up her body as much as I can from the start as well as work on lifting her back. She was feeling better as we got going, and after some time at the trot and canter, thinking about those same concepts, I felt like we were in a good enough place to enter the ring. As soon as we approached the second indoor, I had pre-warm up Sophie under my seat again. All of the work we had just done seemed to have blown out the window, and we promptly marched up that centerline headed into battle. Our first test, First Level test 1, finished on a score of 62.96. Translating to about a 37 for dressage in eventing, that's actually not too bad for us. I think the judge here was being quite nice, but I also try to make sure our geometry and accuracy is on point especially if I know we will be docked points for suppleness and confidence. There were some highlights: the judge thought Sophie had a 'good quality walk', and that Sophie and I are a 'great partnership'. She spoke to us after the test and mentioned how we need to work on improving suppleness and balance, and that she really liked Sophie (me too!!). We exited that arena to head back to the warm up, and Jacqui, the head trainer at our new home, immediately called me out on looking down and using my outside rein to pat Sophie during our canter circle to the right - specifically the moment when Sophie's left shoulder blasted towards the wall making the second half of our circle a questionable shape. She was absolutely right - I gave away that aid when I went to pet her. And I have a historically bad habit of looking down. I can hear all my past trainers shouting 'chin up!!!!' at me as I type this. Jacqui then helped me out in my warm up for our second test, acting as the nudge who calls out all my bad habits as they happen. It was wildly helpful. We again spent a fair amount of time at the walk, and focused on just keeping Sophie's wiggly little body moving forward into my hand and staying straight. Jacqui also helped me focus on getting her to be a little longer in her neck to help fight the tension. We went into the second test feeling more prepared. Our second test, First Level test 2, finished on a score of 66.82. This is actually pretty good for us! We still had moments of intensity, but having someone remind me of my bad habits in the warm up was incredibly helpful. Some highlights included the judge upgrading us from a 'great partnership' to a 'wonderful pair', and our first leg yield grabbing a 7.5. My favorite moment was our stretch trot, simply because where we got to in the stretch was, as Jacqui stated, the trot we need to have as our working trot. As you can see in the screen grab below, she looks like a completely different horse!!! We came home with a first and a third place ribbon, and great feedback from both Jacqui and the judge to work on. I am so proud of how far we've come as a duo, and hopefully it only goes up from here with our flatwork! I have a few weekends of personal activities ahead, so I think our next outing might be some cross country schooling once we head into March... :) Thank you to everyone who has subscribed / messaged me / read my posts so far!! I really appreciate any and all support <3 K

February 14, 2024 Picture: Captured by Joan Davis of Flatlands Foto, Sophie and I over a table on course, both smiling. Since as far back as I can remember, riding at the preliminary level of eventing has always felt like a reach goal. Just like high school seniors will apply to at least one 'reach' school, the idea of running prelim was something I occasionally thought about, but never really dreamed would come to fruition. I never aspired to be riding full time at the upper levels, but for me, being able to compete at the prelim level seemed like an other worldly achievement. I would be incredibly successful if I could get there one day. When I started riding with Charlotte at N&C, prelim still seemed something of a whisper in the wind. I had a lot to work on from the ground up, first. I truly didn't think about running at that level until the day I ran training level with Sophie for the first time. Sophie has been a dream in more ways than one (and a nightmare in others), but it wasn't until we completed our first training level run at Flora Lea farm in the fall of 2021 that I started to formulate the idea of prelim being approachable in my head. Sophie was clearly talented in the jumping, and it was just a matter of me learning how to navigate properly in order to maybe make this dream a reality. In the early spring of 2022, Charlotte and I marked our calendars for my attempt at the level for August of that year. Just putting the words 'Huntington - P' in my calendar made me feel insane. I couldn't believe that we might actually get there. We ran a few events early on in the spring to get the rest of our MER's. One was a training level run at Huntington, where my dear friend Eliza was running prelim on her superstar mare. Watching her complete that run (and do such an amazing job!!!!) allowed me to get a glimpse as to what questions would potentially be on my course there later in the year. We had a run at the modified level at Hitching Post farm in the spring as well, where Sophie blew me away with her willingness to try, even when I was not at my best. The course was twisty, turn-y, and terrain-y, and we still jumped clear only adding some expected time to our xc day. I will recap that show at some point, too. By the time August rolled around, I was newly engaged, and also was prepared to be a newly minted prelim rider as my MER's were complete. Charlotte carted just myself and the spotted unicorn all the way to Vermont for our go (forever grateful for that!!). I was fortunate to have an incredible team to support me throughout the day - Charlotte, Drew, my dad, and my long time barn friend Kylie. Everyone traveled at least a few hours to watch me go - I was determined for it to be somewhat successful for myself and for them!! Picture: X, halt, salute. Captured by my dad. Dressage started off on an okay foot. As told in previous posts, it is our weakest phase, and Sophie and I have a history of fighting with each other over who is allowed to be more tense during our time in the sandbox. I think I got incredibly lucky, because the judge that day was someone who knew both of us, and had recently done a fix-a-test for us at our home base weeks prior. We finished with a 37.4, which was probably generous but also pretty good for us at the time. I was delighted. Picture: Sophie making light work of the show jumping, and me holding on for the thrill. Show jumping came and went quickly - it is usually our most straight-forward phase, and that day was no different. She tore up the grass as we rocketed around the show jumping, adding only 1 rail to our score. I didn't even realize we had a rail until we walked out and Charlotte informed us - I was having so much fun as the pilot and didn't even hear the clip of the hoof on the rail or the tumble of the rail to the grass. Either way, I left the show jumping full of excitement and some anxiety over the culmination of our efforts: the cross country. Picture: Charlotte and I course walking for show jumping. Captured by my dad. We always warm up quickly for xc. She doesn't need much prep, and especially if we've come right from show jumping, she's already a bit fired up. We popped over a log they had set for the warm up off of the right lead, off of the left, and at an angle, and then made our way to the start box. Drew, Kylie and Charlotte had already ventured deeper on course to get good video angles (best people for that!!) and the only person there filled with more anxiety than myself - my dear, dear father - took his post at the start box to capture the start and finish with my mom's good camera. He felt better seeing that angle than any of the 'cooler' jumps later on course (LOL). (A brief shout-out to my mom, who could not join us due to being sick and stuck at home, but supported with so much heart from a distance - and even trusted my dad with her camera for the trip!!) Picture: Captured by Charlotte, me in front of the last fence on course, showing off my beautiful KMA breeches I took several deep breaths as I made my way to the start. I usually like to consider myself semi-stoic and focused at events, but this was different. Event riders know that the details of all three phases are important, but the reason we do this sport is the cross country. It's exhilarating - there's nothing like it! Charlotte and I had walked the course the night before, and talked about the correct rides to all of the hard questions: the trakehner, the drop out of the woods, the right facing corner then six strides to a left facing corner, a sunken road type of exercise in the woods, the coffin, etc. The only question on the course that made me pee my pants a little was a sizable up bank, bounce to a skinny, then one stride to a down bank. Sophie and I had not had significant practice with this, and we had been sticky at up banks during schooling prior to this. Fortunately for us, Huntington must have also thought this was tricky because they had a black flag option set up at that combination. The option gave us the route of going up the bank, down the mound and then circling around the bank over a separate skinny fence, and then back to the regular course. Charlotte and I decided that if things were going amazingly well, that I could attempt the regular route. Any hesitation at any fence prior to this combination, and the smart decision would be to do the option. Picture: All smiles at my dad (for me at least) before heading to the start box I ran the course over and over again in my head hundreds of times between waking up that morning and entering the start box. We were ready. 5...4...3...2...1 have a great ride! We were off. Picture: Captured by my dad, us hopping over fence 1 Soph was a teeny bit backed off at the first two fences, and I was late pressing the gas pedal, which resulted in an unusual stop for us at fence 3. I kicked myself for not prepping enough, and then circled back and popped over it with ease. Fence four was sticky, but Sophie's limber nature got us over it, and then we had a clear runout at fence 5 - a skinny chevron-type fence heading up a path into the woods. I thought I had set us up well for this one, but clearly my first 4 questionable fences didn't build a lot of confidence in either of us. Sophie also couldn't believe that there was a fence judge near it - in a chair no less!! There was a lot to look at. At that point my regular cross country brain kicked in. What the hell were we doing?! I was NOT about to be eliminated at this point. I had important people here supporting me, and I did not want to let them down. So, as they say, I kicked on. We scrambled over that skinny on our second attempt, with me pleading with Sophie out loud to stay focused and help me out a little. We headed into the woods, and then came out over the coffin, where Sophie put one stride where it was supposed to be, but I had anticipated 2, so we sailed over the out with me lagging behind a bit. I told her how good she was, thanked her for listening to my pleas, and we galloped out into the first open field. From then on, it was smooth sailing. Over a big table, a line of skinnies, back into the woods - out over a big drop, over the trakehner, 6 strides in between the corners, in and out of the sunken road, and then I, of course, opted for the option at the bank which went without a hitch. At that point I couldn't care less about time; I just wanted us to find the finish flags. We eased through the water and over a chevron out of the woods...then we galloped towards home. Picture: Sophie and I heading into the corner combination on course. Captured by Kylie. We soared over fence 18 with smiles on both of our faces, and I had tears of joy falling as we went through the flags. Love for the sport and this horse filled my head to the brim. In that moment, I truly believed they did not make enough cookies in the world to give to Sophie as a thank you. The cherry on top was the ability to take home a ribbon that day. 8th place and the brown ribbon might not seem that amazing on paper, but I was elated to have a keepsake for this memory. We finished our first prelim on a number, albeit quite high, but a number nonetheless. Sophie proved to me that she has beyond what it takes to be at that level, and I also took big notes on what we needed to work on at home to find more success in the future. Like any problems we've had on cross country in the past, the issues are never Sophie's ability: they are usually a combination of poor riding decisions and both of us being easily distracted! I'm always hesitant to say that Sophie and I are a 'prelim pair', only due to the cross country faults. We did finish, so by definition, we have achieved that (no longer) far reaching goal, but I'm determined to do it again and do it better! That was over a year and a half ago, and since then we have only dabbled at a few trainings due to my insane schedule over the last year. However, I look forward to our next go. Sophie is so talented, and I often remind myself that she only started getting into eventing in 2019, and then didn't really consistently get out there until 2021. Green doesn't feel like the right way to describe her, but she certainly does not have loads of experience, yet still goes as good as she does. I really believe this mare has talent for so much, and here's to me making sure my shit's together so that I can harness it properly during our time together. Top left: captured by my dad, us soaring over the last fence and headed to the flags Top right: captured by Charlotte, us flying over the out of the sunken road Bottom left: captured by Charlotte, warming up and seeing the grounds the night before the show Bottom right: getting that aftercare done right, according to Kylie. Captured by my dad. Picture: My incredible team. Kylie, Drew, and Charlotte. And of course, my dad, who is not pictured but is the man behind the camera. All the thank you's in the world to Charlotte for hauling us there and back, coaching us, and being there to support us every step of the way; to my family and friends for their in-person and long distance cheering; and to the spotted unicorn. For everything. Here's to what's next. K -If adding course walks as a part of show recap blogs interests you, please leave a comment or message me! I have tons of pictures of my old courses taking up storage on my phone, and a fairly good memory of how courses rode, and I'd be happy to share to any interested parties :)

February 10, 2024 It's no secret that horses have been a significant part of my life for a very long time. In fact, if you can believe it, horses have been a part of my life for longer than Drew and I have been together - so it was only fitting that horses were somehow involved in one of the best days of my life. All it took to have my horse at my wedding was a venue that accepted horses, two incredible friends, and a cooperative horse. Lucky for me, I had all of those things! Sophie is pretty great at trailering solo, and she's used to going to new places for all sorts of activities, so this was just another day in her week. As long as cookies are involved somewhere, she's down for most things. The venue we had picked out was the Farmington Polo Club, which already had horses on site for polo matches, plus a riding program, so I figured it wouldn't be too many additional phone calls to get approval to have a horse on site. While Drew and I were touring the facility before we had officially signed any paperwork, I had mentioned that I was an equestrian, and the facilities manager suggested that I could have some photos in and around the barn - and it didn't take me more than a minute to start scheming on making wedding photos with my horse a reality. The barn manager was wonderfully accommodating, and Sophie had access to a stall to hang out in after pictures and while my friends were enjoying the party. I also am very blessed to have two incredible friends who not only trailered Sophie to the venue, but also bathed and braided her to look her absolute best for photos. They were the ones who had to figure out where to go with the trailer, find the stall, and get her organized all without my direction as it was my wedding day and I was not readily available at all. They did all of that, made it to the ceremony, and put finishing touches on the spotted unicorn while in their dresses and heels. Bella & Darby if you're reading this, you already know, but ily <3 Sophie was absolutely stunning, and it is so special to me to have these memories captured. It sounds wicked cheesy, but it really was magical to have her present on that day. I've been telling everyone that I very astutely planned to have my horse present at my wedding, but couldn't possibly get organized enough to have my dog there - sorry to Wally and all of his fans, that one is on me LOL. Aside from having the physical horse present, there were other nods to horses present at the reception. They were of course mentioned in speeches and seen in photos, but I also was fortunate to have grabbed a bunch of used horseshoes from my farrier at the time to use as a part of the centerpiece decor. My amazing mom cleaned and spray painted the shoes gold and silver, and helped in the design of the table decorations. They came out perfectly! I am so very grateful to all who made it possible for this to happen. I love Sophie so much, and having her there on that day is something I will hold close to my heart forever <3 All photos were taken by the incredible Villetto Photography. K

February 8, 2024 Are you interested in registering you and your horse with the FEI and have never done so before? Then you are in the same spot I was back in the fall of 2023. Now that I have officially completed that process as of February of 2024, I wanted to provide a step-by-step breakdown of what I did to get to this point. I am sure there are other guides that exist, and the rules you can find through USEF, USEA and FEI are relatively clear, but I wanted to add my two cents in case it could be helpful to someone in the future. First - why FEI? For me, it was a new goal I could set that seemed achievable. Sophie and I had competed at events through the preliminary level, and while on paper our record isn't perfect, she absolutely has the skill to be there. I just have to continue to work on myself and our ability as a team in order for us to be competitive. I thought that if we were comfortable at the modified level, and had experience at prelim, then we could try our hand at a 1*. For those unfamiliar, FEI stands for Federation Equestre Internationale, and there are many events in the US that offer FEI levels, which are internationally recognized levels of competition. They have levels from 1* - 5*, with 5* being the highest level of competition on an international level. 1* is equivalent to the modified level of eventing, which is a more recently added section that acts as a stepping stone between the training and preliminary levels. To be quite honest, I do not fancy myself and Sophie as a majorly competitive pair that can swoop down and win it all - but I do think we have the ability to have experiences like this successfully as a pair. Competing as an FEI rider will be a new experience that I want to do because I think we can, not because I think we will win. Plus, I want an excuse to don a shadbelly while trotting down the centerline ;) The process... Before I could even dream of Sophie and I entering an event at any FEI level, she needed to have a passport. A passport is literally a physical booklet containing detailed information about the horse, its markings, and veterinary records. I entered into this process thinking it would be quick and easy - and boy was I wrong!! It required a lot of planning, and it is EXPENSIVE. I will provide a breakdown of cost at the end of my rambling. The first thing I had to do was make sure that I had renewed my USEF membership, and then I had to register Sophie with USEF as a lifetime horse member. I had recently renewed her for just an annual membership, but it was required for her to be a life member for a passport. I can continue to be annual for myself. I then discovered that I needed a microchip number for her in order to proceed with getting a passport. I did not know if she was chipped, so I had to have the vet come out to check. It turned out that she was not chipped, so I had to get her one. I then had to complete a passport services application. The directions are very clear on the document, and this part was relatively uncomplicated for me because I am listed through USEF as Sophie's owner, and all I needed was a new FEI passport. Once this application was complete, I mailed it along with the fees to USEF headquarters. I received the blank passport for Soph in the mail around a week after the application was sent. I was advised to complete this part of the process WELL in advance of my first competition to avoid having to pay additional fees for rushed shipping and services. The blank passport required a vet to complete and sign Sophie's description page. This took some time, because the markings have to be drawn and described in finite detail - and Sophie's markings are not easy. They also had to record her up-to-date vaccination records and sign for it in the passport. I then had to sign one section in the passport as the owner. Following that, I then had to mail the passport back to USEF headquarters for them to approve it. I then got the passport returned to me after approval by USEF, and it is currently in my hands ready to go. It is my job to provide it to the vet for signatures every time Sophie gets vaccinated. In addition to this, I also had to register myself as an FEI athlete, and Sophie as an FEI horse. This was pretty straight forward, and I was able to complete that through USEF. Now, after all of that, Sophie and I are eligible to enter an FEI competition, as long as we meet the MER requirements :) I will be sure to make a post about the process of actually entering an FEI level at a competition when we get there, but this was enough for now (and for a minute!!). For those interested in the details, here is a cost breakdown of everything I had to pay for just to get to where we are now: It wasn't particularly easy or cheap, but I have saved up in order to make this happen. Here's to staying fit and sound so that we can make this dream a reality! K

February 8, 2024 If you're reading this, thank you! I have decided to start blogging as a way to appreciate the past and present of my life with horses. This is therapeutic to me - I have always loved writing, so this is the perfect way for me to keep up with that as well as share my love for horses and the sport of eventing. Right now I am based in Northern Virginia, otherwise known as NOVA to the locals. I moved here in August to pursue a professional career with horses, only to realize that is not a path that is meant for me. At least for right now. Sophie, my current horse and the first horse I have owned as an adult, resides down the road from my apartment at a wonderful eventing and dressage barn. We have plans to compete at a few events in the area this spring before moving back up north to our OG home base of Area 1. Together, Sophie and I have moved from the novice to the preliminary level of eventing. That path has not been entirely smooth sailing, but she is an incredibly talented mare with a big heart. As I am continuing to hone in on my skills as a rider, we are becoming increasingly more confident as a team. I have been going through the process of getting both of us registered with FEI in order to hopefully attempt to break into the FEI sphere later this spring. (crossing all fingers and toes) Sophie had about a month and a half off between November and January due to an injury I had. Between a severe struggle with my mental health and surgery, she got to enjoy some time just being a horse out in a field. I don't think she was too sad about that :) Since then, we have gotten back to a consistent work schedule and I have been slowly getting her (and myself) back into shape to prepare for our goals this season. In the meantime, we have a few schooling shows and horse trials we will be attending to get our feet wet again. We recently stopped by a local schooling jumper show, where Sophie and I both remembered how fun it is to compete and brought home blues for both the 3' and the 3'3 classes. Soon we will be heading down the road to a schooling dressage show, where we both might not be as fired up, but will do our best to show what we have been practicing at home for months!! I have a fair amount of time on my hands these days, so I plan to update this site often. I have a lot of thoughts, I have been blessed to have had a lot of experiences, and as a result I do believe I have things worth sharing that might also be worth reading. Thanks for coming along with me! K