The Secret Life of McKenna & Dorito: Four-Star Inspired

A training level move-up this weekend, a working student position with Emily Beshear just 40 days away: Big, exciting things are on the horizon for M & D.

HN wishes you two nothing but glorious, butt-kicking success!

From McKenna:

Everything is coming and going so fast. Rolex is done and completed, I’ve had my last jump school before Sunday (3 days away!) where the big training level move-up happens, and now I only have 14 days till I get to experience the working student life for a long weekend, 25 more days left of school, and only a mere 40 or so days till I pack Dorito and I up for Virginia. Hard to believe everything is coming so close, it seems like just yesterday the prospect of being a working student was just a mere thought…I guess time flies when you’re having fun right?

Rolex was super awesome, as always, but this one seemed to be a bit more special than the others. For one, I had someone to “personally” cheer on. I can’t even begin to explain how nervous, excited, inspired, (insert any adjective here!) I was to watch Emily rock it around her first Rolex and then watch her in the award ceremony… awe-inspiring!

I had a chance to walk the show jumping course and honestly one of the biggest things that went on in my mind when walking around it was “One day…one day I will be here. One day I’ll be walking it for real. One day I’ll lead the victory gallop…One day I will.” I don’t care if I’m 25 or ready to keel over, it WILL happen. And yes, I do question my sanity!

Rolex also brought to my attention that I have yet to come to terms with ANYTHING that is happening to me! I seriously thought I had come to realize what I was doing this summer, but guess what? I haven’t. It just seems unreal, is this really happening to me? No it can’t possibly…I’m just a small town girl, with no impressive results to her record, with a 13.2 pony. But somehow, it is happening. Somehow David O’Connor told me about this position and for some reason a 4* rider likes me and for some reason they trust a 15-year-old girl to come live by herself for the summer. Yet again, I ask myself “WHAT?!” I constantly ask myself if I’m good enough, if they’ll like me, and what am I thinking, but deep down I know the answer is yes, you ARE good enough, I’m generally a likeable person so hopefully a “check!” there, and that YES, I can do this, and I’m following my passion and my love and I should be grateful because most people out there don’t have something they know they are destined for.

I’ll leave you with a little parting poem written by me, as a 6th grader. And in case you were wondering, yes this has been a published poem! (congratulations you’ve just learned a new fun fact!)

Clear Round
The announcer finally comes on
And broadcasts the last ride of the day.
Everyone’s hoping for my clear round,

I race through the timers,
calculate the careful approach for the first fence,
and soar over it.

I draw near the second fence, close,
a slight rub, but the pole stays up.

I feel the power beneath me,
the heavy breaths of the horse.

Over the last fence
As I ride to victory at the Rolex Kentucky.

This weekend you can find me channeling my inner Sinead Halpin while out on XC , quoting Sharon White and Doug Payne “It doesn’t matter the size of the fence, just keep kicking”, and trying to “walk it off” as Mr. Doug Payne told me to do after tripping and almost falling on my face.
Send all your good luck to me this weekend as Dorito and I tackle MCTA and stay tuned for lots of videos and a helmet cam (that’s right, you heard it!)

Emily Beshear and Here's to You on their way to a 20th place finish last weekend at Rolex. Photo by McKenna.