December 2017
I was so excited for December. We were planning on going to the Holiday Classic the first weekend of December, AND my mom was going to be able to fly in from Washington to see the second half of it! No matter what happened, I was ecstatic.
We got up there a little later than planned, but we went through our normal routine. We offloaded, set up the tack stall, worked Athena, and braided her.
We started the next morning with halter and showmanship. She did very well! We got fourth in showmanship out of a steep class. We then went into our hunt seat classes. Athena did so well! We hung right there with some of the nicest horses here in NC. I was so proud of her!
Not too long after we got done showing, we ran to the airport to pick up my mom. I was SO happy to see her. It sucks having her so far away, but the military will do that. We had a great time at dinner, and she got to meet Athena.
The next morning we woke up early to get to the barn to feed and get warmed up. We began our day with hunt seat again. Another great surprise was that my Uncle Rob and my Aunt Meredith (great family friends!) were going to be there too. We had so much fun hanging out with our gang, and Athena looked and felt AMAZING. I was so proud of her!
After we got done showing, we walked around the various vendors. They started calling off the high point winners for the hunt seat division. I absent mindedly listened, not expecting anything. I was shocked to hear Athena’s name, and start jumping up and down crying. We just wrapped up Athena’s first year showing by winning the weekend Reserve High Point Champion in the Huntseat division in one of the largest shows in NC! We all started crying and celebrating. I could not believe we actually did it!
We dropped what we were doing, picked up our awards, ran to the barn to grab Athena and took our first ever win picture. I was so grateful my mom, Rob , and Meredith could be there to be in it. It was so exciting!
I had these hopes of winning a high point all year. It was kind of a secret goal of mine, and we did it! I was so excited. Not too bad for a rescue and a DIY amateur!
After the high of the Holiday Classic, it was vet visit time from our favorite vet, Dr. Garrett from the Animal Hospital of Fayetteville. Since Athena was going to be traveling more, we decided to give her the strangles vaccine as well as her normal ones. A few hours after the vaccine Athena wasn’t acting quite right. I called Dr. Garrett and she ended up having a pretty rough vaccine reaction. I stayed up well past 11pm, hand feeding this mare, scratching her butt, and making her feel better while I hacked up a lung. I was so worried about her.
It left a huge lump on the left side of her neck and where the abcsess blew she has a little scar now. I was so scared the next few days, but she pulled out of it and we decided not to give that to her again.
I have come to realize Decembers usually bring some sort of crazy injury/illness when it comes to Athena.
Athena made a full recovery and I gave her some time off.
2017 was Athena’s first year showing and I was so dang proud of her. We went to a total of five shows and she seemed to catch the attention of everyone at each one. I know we have a long way to go, but I couldn’t believe how far we had come along in such a short period of time. The previous Holiday Classic was ok, we didn’t place very much and then exactly one year later we walked away with the weekend high point. I couldn’t believe it!
I was very reflective towards the end of December. I remembered all the rides in the hot summers, I remembered all the times I was so frustrated beyond belief. I remembered so many of the amazing compliments Athena received, and all the wonderful goals we had accomplished. I was grateful for all the new friends we had made, all the blessings and miracles that seemed to follow Athena. Reflecting on everything that happened gave me so much hope for 2018 and what was to come.
Thank you so much for following Athena and I! We appreciate your love and support!