Greetings From Georgia
published 10/9/2007
Hey guys!
I can’t believe its almost been 2 months since I left – crazy stuff, let me tell you! I miss you all (or would it be ya’ll? Yes, I have started saying that. And my friends make fun of me for starting to pick up a twang. Sorry ya’ll (see?), I’m going southern). But its fun down here, I’m loving my classes, especially my biological research methods class. Did anybody ever have sea monkeys when they were a kid? How many of you even know what sea monkeys are? Anyway, we’re starting our first reseach project using them – my partner and I are studying the effects of pesticide pollution in hatching success. Okay, so that sounds really boring, but trust me, its fun.
And of course, the most important part, the horsey stuff. Riding IHSA is very very different from pony club. In some aspects, it has made me appreciate pony club a lot more – some of the beliefs and ideas I’ve encountered from talking to some of the girls who did the big level hunters and eq are a bit scary. But they’re not all bad, and as a whole our team is great. The style of riding is very different from pony club and eventing, and it was difficult at first to get used to only thinking about you as a rider and ignoring the horse. In this aspect of the sport, the horse seems to be more of a vehicle for the rider to look good on. Very different mindset from pony club. But, while the style is different, its a good tool to have in your ‘toolbox’ of riding techniques, and I have to say, my jumping has improved immensely since riding here.
We had our first horse show last weekend, and our team did great! As for me personally, well, lets just say we all make silly mistakes, and I am definitely no exception. In our second canter, my horse picked up the wrong lead… And I didn’t notice it. Haha, looking back I can laugh at it, but to be honest I was pretty mad at myself after that. I did finally get the lead fixed – one of my team members on the rail told me I was on the wrong lead (yes, you can do that in this sport – as long as the judge doesn’t hear you), but it was fixed much too late – we had already gone straight in front of the judge on the wrong lead. So I obviously didn’t place, but for my first IHSA show, my first equitation class, and my first rail class ever, I figure just staying on was an accomplishment. I didn’t jump at this show – we decided to hold off on that for the first show and just let me get used to the whole atmosphere, but I think next weekend (our next show) I will be.
So I hope everything is good up in Racine, and not too cold yet! Have fun at the annual meeting, and stay safe and on your horses!
~Lisa