Beaventing: BROMONT!!!

Leading up to Bromont there were some doubtful moments as to whether I should go or not, Danny had some issues with injuries so he was debating the trip, I had been struggling a bit with his tenseness in dressage and didn't want to make a fool of myself and, as all of our horsepeople know, the dollar requirements were quite high. Seth and I decided that this was our vacation for the year and you never know what could happen in the future with qualifying, so I wasn't going to miss this for any of the reasons listed above. At one point, we just threw it all out the door and said, "Bromont HERE WE COME!" It has been my dream to compete in the Olympics and this was an amazing opportunity to be able to ride at the Olympic facility from 1976.

We got to the facility on Monday afternoon...it took about 9 hours to get there. As you approach the facility you can see the massive XC jumps and there is a Bromont sign with the Olympic rings up on the side of the mountain...I have to admit I got goosebumps and was teary eyed each time :). We spent the next few days getting acclimated to the place and I got to watch some pretty amazing workouts. It was a very focus

ed environment with it being an Olympic year. This was the Canadian team's last mandatory outing and many of the U.S. pairs still fighting for spots were there. Twice a day Linda Zang, David O'Connor, Silva Martin and many others would be working with the Olympic hopefuls right next to the stabling area! Most of the events I go to, professionals are always around, but amateurs are the majority, so it definitely had a different feel. I was just in awe... everywhere I went I saw all of these "famous" horse and rider combos...I guess I was a bit starstruck.

Onto the acutal competition...first of all, there were 58 entries in the CCI1*. I had had a bad workout on Tuesday, but on Wednesday he seemed to

settle in, so I thought our arriving early was the ticket....I was wrong dressage on Thursday was a MESS. The atmosphere got the best of Hobbs' nerves and he was incredibly tense. Let's just say I was just happy to finish and not get eliminated for jumping out of the ring. It was tough to swallow the disappointment...I did get to watch a lot of other rides on Thursday and Friday and saw a lot of other horses melting down, which made me feel better. One actually came in the ring and just froze...wouldn't move at all, so it DEFINITELY could have been worse.

Saturday it was on to XC....the course was HUGE!!! Optimum time was 7 minutes and it was hilly, so time and fitness were going to be a factor. The first water complex was a maximum brush, one stride

to a log/drop into the water and then a slight left bend out over a skinny...I was worried about this one. I think the easiest jump on the course might have been a corner...there weren't many gimmies. Well Hobbs was a champion, he galloped around the course like it was Beginner Novice. Once he got out there, as always, he was super focused. We finished up double clear and he was still raring to go in the vet box!

We ran late in the day on Saturday and then were the first to jump on Sunday, so I was hoping I had done my homework with conditioning and he would be able to rebound. He felt great in warmup and despite a delay and being in the big stadium again, he jumped

really well and we ended up with 1 time fault and 1 rail. It was amazing to hear the sound of applause as I crossed the finish line. We ended up 31st out of 58, but were 7th of amateurs which I'm really proud of. The atmosphere was so electric and it was such an amazing week. I feel honored to have had the opportunity to compete at that level and will keep moving forward. Who knows, maybe it's the Bromont CCI2* next year!!!