Teresa Harcourt: NAJYRC update

Area VI eventer Teresa Harcourt gives us a recap of how she and her teammates fared (spoiler alert: they fared well!) in the dressage competition yesterday.

From Teresa:

HOLY COW HORSE NATION!

Watch out because Area VI is on fire and we are not planning on cooling down anytime soon. Dressage Day, affectionately known as D-Day, started at the ungodly hour of 3:30 a.m. when Sarah Braun and myself left for the barns. You know it is early when Starbucks shows no sign of life. Braiding began and soon enough the lights in the barns shut off. There I was standing in the dark with an angry horse and bugs swarming my head trying to attack my flashlight app on my phone. Let me tell you that was a great way to start the day. Really it was; it made for a good story. Anyways enough mumbo jumbo, and down to the business.

Area VI CCI** riders are on a scramble team with Area VII’s Lizzie Snow and Area IX’s Kendyl Tracy. Sarah was the first ride out and gave a confident first ride. She was really happy with her mare Perfect Intentions. She scored a 59.8 to fall into 12^th. I was next in the ring at 8:29. Skip started his warmup with a nice long and low walk. We quickly made it down to warm up and got right to business. He went into the ring and showed his stuff. I swear that horse knows when to show off because he definitely did. We scored a 51.9 to drop us in 2^nd! Lizzie Snow was third in the ring on her lovely horse, Coal Creek. She came back to the barns very happy and pleased with how her horse had performed. She scored a 50.9 and took the lead!!! Finally, Kendyl Tracy trotted up centerline and stole the third place position with a 53.3! It is pretty awesome to be in the position we are in right now, 1^st/2^nd/3^rd! I am so proud of all of us for accomplishing what we did today! We have a great team!

Now onto the one-star wrap up! First out in the one star for Area VI was Erin Murphy on Myster E. (Side note: I have known Myster E since I was 7 years old and let me tell you this horse knows his stuff. It is amazing to see these types of horses in our sport that can be passed on to help riders develop to their full potential. Erin and Myster E have done just that!) Erin guided “E” to the third place position with a 49.2! Our next rider was Jordyn Horowitz riding Nicodemus! Talk about a sweet pair; Jordyn has been unbelievably dedicated to Young Riders and traveled as far as Chicago to qualify! The pair scored a 61.9 to place them in 32^nd.  The CCI* team is combined with Area VII’s Maria Schatz. She was the third rider out on her handsome horse, Joe. She guided Joe to 27^th with a 58.5! Well, Gigi Herron on the Young Rider veteran Beacon Hill were ready to strut their stuff until an unfortunate opening of the skies began. There was a small delay in the dressage until the thunderstorms passed and that did not stop them from performing their best. Gigi and “Taylor” flew into a 4^th place tie with a 49.6! Good job ladies! We are all so proud of you!

Tomorrow is a day of mental preparation and course walking for Cross Country on Saturday. Another update about the course shall be on the way tomorrow! Meanwhile, Area VI will be KEEPING CALM AND GOING FOR GOLD .

Talk to you soon!
Teresa and AREA VI !