Mission (Im)Possible - Mission ACCOMPLISHED!!!
I can hardly believe it and hardly get rid of the smile on my face: WE SUCCEEDED! Five weeks of hard work paid off! Remember that I was training so much over the last few weeks? Oh…right…I did not ever mention WHY and WHAT the mission was! Let me start from there: this weekend we had the regional championships for Haflinger horses in Carinthia. As you know, we are currently showing first and second level, with still some problems in the latter. Showing at the regional championships would have meant to even step one level up (it is not third level yet, it is some level in between: you need to show lateral movements – it is called LM (between L and M)). Honestly, why would you dare riding a level up when you are not firm in second level? Despite all my strong doubts, I decided five weeks ago to give it a try. Why not? In the worst case, I would be placed last – nothing more.
So the last five weeks were pretty intense. On Thursday last week (week 5), we had a trainer lesson and I told him about my plans and we worked on the specific movements for this test. He had a good feeling after the lesson and I was surprised how well it went.
Saturday, I was really excited. I showed first in first level, won. Got a nice saddle pad for that and was really happy. Then, it was my time to get prepared for the second test, LM level. I was nervous, I was excited, I was curious. When entering the ring he felt GORGEOUS! Really, first part of the ride felt perfect! Unfortunately, we had some distraction at E (which arose in first level already as somebody was scaring him walking by) – but nevertheless we got out of the ring with me crying in relief and almost 60%. I could not have been any happier! He was such a good boy and I did not think of anything more than that.
Sunday, I decided to enter a second level and the LM test again. In the second level, I had major mistakes and did not feel good at all. We even had a flying change in there (remember, there was a monster at E). I got out of the ring, shaking my head, being pretty disappointed. Then the speaker announced the results: I got 63,02%! How could that happen??? I was placed 3rd in the end and still could not believe it asking my boyfriend all the time he should check the results online again to make sure there was no mistake! But it was the truth! Thanks to the price giving ceremony, my time to warm up for the next test was pretty limited. So after a few minutes, it was my turn again. I can hardly describe what I felt during this test. It all seemed to fade away, I only remember me starting to laugh in the walk pirouettes as Hafl was turning so fast it felt more like a spin than a pirouette. Somehow I made it to the last centerline, halt, salute, hug your horse (that should be part of the test, man!).
Can you imagine what my face looked like when the speaker announced that I scored a 63,77%??? WAY beyond our expectations!!!! How can I describe my feelings when telling you that we even were placed 3rd in this test? That was hilarious!!! I can still not believe it though…
This weekend was the proof that you can achieve things you would not ever dare dreaming of. That you can unleash potentials by simply believing in you and your horse! And now? The sky is the limit – anything is possible from now onwards. All the doubts I had – why? It might be (oh yes) that I never make it to the Olympics, but why not dreaming of it?
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