American Eventing Championships was a trip. Quite literally. Chris had to work the majority of the week, so we ended up leaving on Wednesday night. We stayed overnight at the overnight barn we like in Mount Vernon, Illinois. We got to the Kentucky Horse Park shortly after noon on the 31st of August. It was a total whirlwind to get the stall set, but we decided to let Dezi chill in the stall for a bit before we headed out to XC to watch some friends (Lauren Schiller) riding in the training division. She killed it!
After we had settled in a bit, I took Dezi for a long hack around the property to check out all the sights we'd be encountering over the next couple of days, including the Rolex stadium, our dressage ring, and as close to XC as I thought I could get without getting in trouble. We got the campsite setup and then headed to the Rolex arena to watch the Intermediate show jumping (congrats Will Coleman!) while eating some delicious avocado toast from a food truck. While we were watching, my next door stall neighbor and friend got proposed to! Her boyfriend had enlisted the help of their farrier to make an insert for the horse's shoe and her friend had planned a photography session to commemorate competing at the Kentucky Horse Park- it worked out perfectly! What a perfect proposal!
Friday was dressage day! We had a decent dressage test around 11am. Overall, it had a bit more tension than I would have liked, but I felt good about it. It was a 34.7. I was in a 3 way tie for 21st. That night, we watched the advanced riders do their stadium rounds! Liz Halliday looked like she was putting on a clinic. It was so cool to see her ride after doing a clinic with her last year in Kansas City.
9am Saturday brought cross country day! I was so so happy that I didn't have to wait until the end of the day to ride cross country, like I did in 2021 when I was the 2nd to last rider on the course! I didn't have too much time to think about the course and the parts that freaked me out (silly Mexican fiesta jump 2). Dezi and I had an awesome ride. We passed jump 3 and it took everything in my power not to yell out that we had already made it past where we got in 2021! She trotted the water (typical) and then we were super up on time, so we circled before the last 2 fences. We had a blast! I literally cried when I crossed the finish line. Dezi and I moved up to a tie (with our next door stall neighbors- on the other side) for 16th place. Small world! We spent the afternoon/evening in the Rolex stadium again to watch our friends ride their novice stadium jumping rounds. We also tried to walk the stadium course despite the protests of the ground crew and people dragging, who kept trying to run us all over.
Sunday, Chris and I officially walked stadium again in the morning before going back to the barn to get ready. The plan would be to slow down. Think. Ride a hunter round. Slow and steady. I ended up riding around 10:30am and rode exactly as I had planned. We even managed to leave all the rails up! And as I came around toward the exit, I was amazed to see that I had actually gotten time penalties! 2.8 time penalties took me to 18th place- just outside the ribbons (to 15th). A rail would have taken me to 22nd and a clean round would have gotten me a 13th place ribbon. But I'm still super proud! We finished. And we were in the top half of the division with 46 starters. I did it! I couldn't have been more happy!!
We started home that night. We had the steak dinner that Lori and I both deserved in Mount Vernon, while the horses relaxed at our layover. It was delicious!
Monday morning, Labor Day, we drove the last few hours from Mount Vernon to Kansas City. I took off work on Tuesday for rest and relaxation and Wednesday for a farrier appointment (followed by an impromptu Royals game with the hubby). And then it was back to real life!
