Thanks, Mare!

Now that you know how Hwin and I got together, I will tell a little of our accomplishments up to now. Since I found her at a hunter/jumper barn, I simply continued in that discipline. I did want to do dressage, but she seemed to like jumping so we kept at it. We never competed, but had fun going over jumps and hacking out in the fields.

She decided at one point that this riding thing was not for her. Being only five and very green we had our share of difficulties. For a while, she was known as the horse in the barn that bucks, and I fell off… a lot! Getting through that was tough, but it really cemented our relationship. Once that three to four month phase was over, we forged ahead and she became a barn favorite.

After a couple years, she decided that jumping was no longer her thing, going through the jumps instead of over them, so we switched disciplines and moved barns. My first summer at the new place we did training level at a schooling show. I can’t even describe how nervous I was. Being the center of attention was not my idea of fun. Suffering from social anxiety, I tended to lay low and keep pretty quiet, but I am also very competitive and love sports.

We ended up coming in second. That ribbon seemed to be worth all of the anxiety. The next year I did as many schooling shows as I could and ended up reserve champion at first level for the season. As my confidence grew, I decided to do the recognized shows.

It has been a lot of hard work, and I have spent more money than I care to think about, but over the years Hwin and I have travelled to Connecticut, New York and different parts of Vermont, been to regional competitions three times, placed twice in regional championships, won two USDF all breed awards, NEDA year end awards, received my USDF bronze medal and gotten my fourth level scores for my silver. I was on a bit of a hiatus from showing this year with all of the changes going on, but I plan to try for my PSG scores next summer.

Hwin has helped me accomplish a lot in the world of dressage. We aren’t going to the Olympics any time soon, but we do pretty well, and we have fun doing it. I never have to worry about how she is going to react to things. She is always fun to ride and tries to do her best in everything. Her biggest accomplishment to date, though, is helping me gain confidence, not only in the show ring, but in life in general and helping take the weight of social anxiety off my back. She has opened a whole new world of wonderful people who have become great friends and now an amazing career.

Thanks, Mare!