All You Need is Second Chance

Not to anyone's surprise, today there was another horse-back riding meet. No really, every weekend there is some kind of horse-back riding activity. This time, it was just a "paso de pista", an informal competition which is usually easier than official meets. There are no official judges, and some rules aren't followed so seriously. For example, you don't need the uniform jacket, lack boots and white breeches. Instead you can use any polo-styled shirt and breeches. To many riders, these types of meets are the perfect moment to dare to try higher courses or start new horses because of the relaxed environment. Well not this time! To me, this has been one of the hardest and toughest competitions I have ever experienced.

First of all, everything was a mess from the moment we arrived to Guaymaral. My course had been built on the grass stage, which can be used for Derbies (not a good place to build a course where amateurs are going to jump). I really don't know what was happening to the builder that morning, but his mind wasn't very set on the ground as he was supposed to be. As a friend likes to say, "He was not all there." The course was all wrong from the first jump. Some stride counts weren't right, other jumps were too close to each other, then others had too many weird tricks. Who in their right mind could think Amateur 0.80-0.90 riders are capable of going through a water obstacle? I certainly can't (because Luna is afraid of water). Apart from that, the Amateur 1.00m tie brake course was built along the 0.80-0-90 one, so everything was a tiny bit crowded. Googies (my teacher) had to go over the whole course (and I mean all of it) and fix the mistakes. God praise Googies! He saved us all from terrible, sad deaths, caused by a crazy course builder that can't distinguish between Open Championship Professionals and beginning Amateurs.

Second of all, the paddock was a terrible chaos! Suddenly it was full of horses performing all possible activities a horse can do with a rider: walk, trot canter, eat grass, jump, kick, stand on two feet, bolt, neigh, whine and everything else possible. A girl I know fell off her horse and got a little bit stepped on (nothing serious happened to her, fortunately). Another girl finished her course but the horse ran off, she fell, and I think because of terror, she fainted and I'm not sure when she woke up. I really felt the air was very tense, and it made me nervous.

 As I made my way through the mayhem, I warmed up and was ready to do the course. I started and was so happy because Luna was jumping perfectly. I could feel myself soar as she jumped each obstacle effortlessly. But there was something wrong with her. Every time I got close to the far side of the grass lane, she stood her ears up (the way she always does when she's about to bolt) and got really tense. I held on to the right reign and ignored it. I continued with my course and went on to the seventh jump. This was a double with one stride in the middle heading straight to the far side of the grass lane. I had to make Luna go fast because she's got a very small stride and there were four long strides to get to the double. I was heading right on to 7a when suddenly Luna takes off to the left, terrified by something that was moving at the far side of the grass. There was a split second after that where so many thoughts came to me at the same time. I was extremely angry with myself for letting Luna get off the jumping line, because I know it's my fault. I couldn’t believe Luna had done this to me again, after so many refusals less courses during the year. I remember I also thought about going to that grass line and get rid of whatever stupid thing that had Luna so freaked out. During that time, I managed to make a perfect turn and push her into the jump (I might add that we managed to squeeze two strides between the double and not even touch the obstacle). I successfully finished the course, but I had a huge lump of anger that wouldn't go away. I sat on Luna's back, fuming away on that stupid mistake that had cost me a perfect course, a bit of my self-esteem and a bit of my confidence. I finally decided I couldn't be angry for too long, so I just got over the anger (but not over the pain). But suddenly, Googies came with a message that would make me recover, “do you want to try again?" A second chance is just what I needed to get over the incident. I would be able to try again and get rid of that terrible feeling that I was a pathetic rider. In effect, I redid the course, and this time, I was prepared to get Luna serious and head on to the double without a second of doubt. I really appreciated that opportunity, and it meant a lot to my self-esteem and my connection with Luna. This was just another experience that will hopefully help me become a better rider. I just have to say second chances are the best!