Nationals

After passing on our first qualifying rally for PC Nationals we took our next opportunity and traveled to The Virginia Horse Park to compete in Show-Jumping.  Packing for rally is hard enough, but packing for 4 days of National competition is frightful.  Imagine packaging for a week at the beach- and add 2 more people because that's how much stuff Houston has.

The first morning of competition we had jog outs at 7:30 am.  Houston was in rare form, frisky, and I thought my heart would jump out of my chest as 4 judges and a vet watched Houston trot by to be "approved" sound for competition. We passed and were clear for the day.

Our team was in the Horse II level (3'3"-3'6").   In all my years of having horses I was never concerned with dandruff in my horse's tail, until Pony Club.  Did you know that putting Listerine in your horse's tail will rid it of dandruff?  I used baby oil to cover it up until I learned this nifty little trick from a fellow team member.

We passed formal inspections with flying colors and had to saddle up for warm-ups immediately after.  Of course it was 90+ degrees, no breeze and we were required to wear our velvet helmets and coats the first day.  I unfortunately have a history of over heating and was nervous about having zero ventilation while riding.  We warmed up well and made it through our first course effortlessly.

The ring schedules were back-to-back so there was only one horse in between us and our next course.  EMT's were patrolling the rings to make sure riders were safe and not getting dehydrated.  As I entered the arena for my second round I felt light headed and weak, but what choice did I have but to keep going? 

Houston is the most amazing horse ever. Period.  He completed his course with grace and even kept me from falling off around the corners as I began to over heat and have trouble staying in the center of the saddle.  After we exited the arena the EMT came over right as I was starting to see spots.  They took me to the medical center where my blood pressure was WAY too low and they tried to hydrate me before I passed out.  I remember seeing Houston walking around the medical center looking panicked because I had left him with my trainer.

Second day of competition went much better since they decided to wave coats and velvet helmats- due to the many people suffering from heat exhaustion.

When award time rolled around Houston and I were named 10th out of 40+ competitiors with the best equtiation (judging is based on how well the riders position looks on course).  Our team finished 8th in our division, which was a big accomplishment for a first time team.