They did it! Our region 3 girls started the day off with Ellen Wall and her horse, Tvuari, at 7:30 this morning riding in the very first time slot of the day! She had nerves of steel and put in a pretty terrific ride earning a 64.342. Next up was Kati Dagge and it was probably the most difficult ride she has ever had. Her beautiful stallion, Dream of Love, spooked repeatedly...but she did a wonderful job of getting him through the test and didn't get eliminated. Unfortunately her score reflected the difficulties she had and would end up being the team's drop score. Jess went down the center line at 10:25 this morning with a very tight Coda, but put in a very solid ride with a score of 62.811. Our final rider for the team, Lauren Knopp, had her turn in the ring with Rho Dance and also had a very solid ride. Her score of 63.459 secured the girls a spot in the medals... but we wouldn't know until nearly an hour and a half later when the remaining Junior riders completed their rides! Finally, back in the barn awaiting the news from our Chef, Sue Bender, we got the call! The girls got the Silver medal behind the Canadian team!!!! There was tons of hooting and hollering and hugs and woo-hoo's! Now we had to get the horses tacked back up for the awards ceremony and back to the arena in 15 minutes...Everyone kicked into high gear and each horse had a posse' of folks putting on their polos, saddle pads, saddles, and finally the bridles. The girls quickly wiped down their boots and put back on their show hats and jackets. In a flash, the four girls were mounted and walking off together towards the Main Arena...the moms and dads left behind, all incredibly proud and in awe of their girls and trainer's accomplishments.
Excitement and terror...those two words pretty much sum up the Awards Ceremony. Everything went smoothly, as it usually does, until the victory lap. Coda started jumping around and rearing and backing up and we were all absolutely terrified for Jess. She was so strong and focused and tried so hard to get him under control, but it just wasn't working. Finally, she took him out of the ring, but he was already spooled up and still a little crazy. Karen ran over to Jess from the stands in her flip flops to grab him, but she didn't get there until Jess had taken Coda out. Jess and Coda made it back to the barn safely with the other girls and their mounts, but it really shook us all up quite a bit. That was the last victory lap Jess will ever do on Coda...
Back in the stalls the horses went and off the girls went to be interviewed, leaving the "posse" to once again untack the horses and get them watered and give them hay. I think the horses were as exhausted as the parents, trainers and grooms!
I can't think of any other way to explain how I feel...kinda surreal and totally magical. Did my kid really win a Silver Medal in Dressage at the NAJYRC?
Other than supporting Jess with trailering, our time and financial resources, this accomplishment is something she did solely with the commitment of time, talent and love of her trainer, Karen Lipp. Karen is an amazing woman and an even more amazing rider and trainer.
But, there are lots of other people who have supported Jess in this goal including all of her barn friends at Top Hat Dressage in Canton, GA (Christi, Lori, Kayce, Kris, Sydney, Lara, Melody, Alyssa, Rick, Cathy, Elizabeth, Michelle, Heather, Jessica, Sarah, Carol, Anne...Heather, our barn manager and Jose, our assistant barn manager), our farrier, Andy Snell and our vets, Dr. Nash and Dr. Patterson, in addition to all our friends and family (near and far). To get to the NAJYRC you have to have a village helping you to achieve your goals. And, it helped a lot that our girls were truly a team today...supportive, affectionate, encouraging and above all good sports!
It ain't over! Saturday Jess will compete for an Individual medal and hopefully, she will place to ride her Freestyle on Sunday. But, for tonight, we are going back for a Pizza Party and to celebrate a super day at the Kentucky Horse Park!
