After taking a relaxing week off, I am excited to return to Dressage and to riding my beloved horses. It’s been nice to have a break and spend time with my family, but with the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions in Wayne, Illinois, in August, it’s time to focus and get back into training mode again.
As a Dressage rider, maintaining my routine and physicality are always a priority, even when I am not competing. I have a fixed schedule, which includes online school in the morning, training with my horses in the afternoon, and studying at night before I go to sleep. I always eat healthily and workout, and love going for a great run or doing jump rope, As I haven’t been able to get into the gym during Covid 19, I now jog the trails near the barn and when I have time, go to the beach to squeeze in some surfing, which is always good for body, mind and soul.
My equine partners have been more relaxed during quarantine, and in preparation for the Festival, my Coach, Adrienne Lyle, will now increase their training again. With Sky Man still too young to compete, we will focus our attention on Zeaball Diawind (Furstenball) and Hemmingway (Hendrix). They both placed exceptionally well in our last competition, which was in March at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival in Wellington. My team and I took first and second place in the FEI Young Rider test, with Hemmingway and I earning a 71.575% and Zeaball, almost 69%, which was very promising for his first outing at a national qualifier.
When Coronavirus changed all of our lives in mid-March, I was uncertain if I would compete again in 2020. With the U.S. Dressage Festival of Champions in Wayne, Illinois, now on the horizon, I am excited to train with my brilliant team again. August will be here before we know it, and I personally can’t wait to be back in the saddle!