November 2017

November was such a great month!

We were winding down from the NC State Fair show just the month before. Athena was gaining confidence with every ride, and we were finally able to start taking little mini trail rides by ourselves. It was SO much fun!

The first weekend in November we went to another horse show, the final show for the Cape Fear Trail Riders. Athena rocked it, winning just about every class, including our showmanship class. In fact, the judge thought we showed at the big APHA shows. I was over the moon! I explained that she is a rescue, and we had only been showing a year. He seemed very impressed and gave us lots of great tips. It genuinely made my day!

We spent the rest of the show hanging out, eating junk food, and having fun. Athena ate most of my donut. Haha! Oh well, she earned it. I just love her and her personality!

Best horse show husband ever right here! ! He got us breakfast, helps me get on Athena, ran back to the trailer when a button popped off mounting, FOUND the hunter green button in the grass after it happened, holds all ribbons, cheers me on, keeps track of classes, makes sure I eat and drink, holds Athena, helps me with tack and wardrobe changes,  keeps me laughing when I am stressed out. I could make a list a mile long, but he is absolutely amazing and makes me so happy.

Athena also started getting lots of attention online and at shows. Unfortunately, with all the good haters start coming out of the woods, tearing us down every chance they could. People would make fun of us for taking smaller horse shows too seriously. While it may seem we are working super hard for a little open show, we have our eyes set on something much bigger. We take each ride, show, and lesson seriously because each one will help prepare us for Pinto Worlds. Each one counts.

People we thought were “friends” started tearing us down, talking about us behind our backs, and honestly being just mean. It really hurt for a little bit, but then I decided I wasn’t going to apologize or let anyone make me feel bad for trying so hard and having big dreams. I have big goals for Athena and I and I know we can achieve them. It may take some time, but no one can tell me otherwise.

As we dealt with the negativity, we prepared for the 2017 Winter Holiday Classic up in Raleigh. I was excited to see how we compared to the great horses up there and to see how much we grew from last year.

Thank you for reading and being so supportive of Athena and I!