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As most of you know, the Winter Equestrian Festival is coming up! It is one of the biggest shows in the country, with people gathering from all over the nation to be here! It is an amazing show that I get to have like right in my backyard! It is an awesome opportunity to meet new people and get to show 12 weeks in a row! I figured I would share my schedule on one of my show days at the Winter Equestrian Festival!:
5:00am - Alarm goes off to wake up! 5:01am - Alarm goes off again… 5:02am - and again… 5:03am - and again… 5:10am - *finally gets out of bed* and brushes my teeth, hair, gets dressed, etc. 5:20am - make my breakfast and watch half of an episode of Modern Family 5:30am - get my stuff together and hop in the car 6:15am - arrive at the PBIEC (Palm Beach International Equestrian Center) 6:25am - finish parking and go to the Oasis Café and grab a juice before getting on 6:35am - run to the ring and snap a photo of the trips to memorize the course 6:45am - sit by the ring and watch a few trips and take photos 7:15am - go back to Oasis and grab coffees for my trainers 7:30am - meet trainers and grooms by the ring with my pony to get on! 7:30am to 10:30am - show!! 10:40am - say goodbye and thank you to trainers and my pony 10:50am - stop by the Oasis again to grab early lunch and meet up with friends 11:00am to 1:00pm - hang out by the ring and take photos with friends 1:15pm - head to my pony’s stall to give her a treat and thank the groom 1:45pm - get in the car to go home after a long day! 2:45pm - get home and watch episodes of Modern Family and chill for the rest of the night 5:00am the next day - do it all over again!! I hope you guys enjoyed this blog, just wanted to write this one up quick just in case anyone was wondering how a day went at one of the highest rated shows there is! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me and if you have any blog ideas I will answer those as well. Thank you!!
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The sweet smell of fly spray and alfalfa greet you as you pull up to the Walnut Ring at Pony Finals. With ponies trotting down the bridle path and riders whizzing up and down the streets on their golf carts, it’s a blur of black coats and fur. You know you have made it all the way there, from the qualification to the landing flight, yet your nerves build up now. “Please, not today, not now,” you say to yourself as you’re at the in-gate. This is only one of biggest moments of your pony career and you don’t want to do poorly. With over 100 talented competitors waiting behind you for their turn in the royal Walnut Ring, it’s your time to shine, so give it all you got.
This is just what I imagined Pony Finals to be like on the whole flight there. Four and a half hours from South Florida on two connecting plane flights, all for those 2 minutes in the giant ring at the one and only Pony Finals. I had run out of books on my Kindle, and was waiting for the plane to land in Kentucky. I had a moment to think to myself, “This is one of the biggest moments in my life. I can’t believe it. This is actually happening!” I had always dreamed about even attending Pony Finals, but never actually taking part in it. I watched it livestream on USEF Network every year thinking about just what I would give to go. I used to cry for the winners and cry for those that fell off. It made my heart race, and if you can imagine me watching it, you have no idea what it was like for me to actually set foot in the ring. I was up tossing and turning all night, hoping that it would be morning already so I could just get to the grounds and get ready. I probably slept three hours and that was ample amount of energy for me to start my day. I ran down the row of shops, making sure to say good morning to them setting up, and went to my VIP table and sat and watched. And watched. And watched. I watched all of the classes and thought what an unreal experience this was. From 7am to 7pm, I stayed in that same seat, my eyes glued on each pony as they came into the ring to give it their only shot. Finally, it was my turn. It was my first time wearing a shad belly, so putting that on made me feel a little giddy inside already. My hands were shaking as I tried to slide my gloves on and I could feel my heart beating a thousand times a second. My pony was tacked up and ready, waiting for me next to the ring. She looked very calm, which only seemed to make me more nervous. All night I dreamt of what the course would be, how nice the jumps would look, all weird thoughts I allowed myself to think being that I was actually there. I walked the course ahead of time and was drilling the numbers of the lines in my head to make sure I wouldn’t forget. All of my nerves and butterflies in my stomach disappeared the second I set foot in the Walnut ring, as if my whole body pulled it together thinking, “This is Sophia’s time to shine. Lets give her these 2 minutes completely nerve-free.” It was a beautiful round, and even though there were some mistakes and the judges thought differently, I knew in my heart, that I did it. I accomplished what I never thought I would have. I did what I had only dreamt about. It was the most unreal feeling, and no amount of hugs or kisses to my pony could ever make up how much I loved her at that moment. I gave her a million treats and knew that this was my last show with her as well. I cried that night, a blend of happy and sad tears for the same reason, because my pony was leaving. I was eternally grateful for the opportunity she gave me, and couldn’t wait for her to go on and give another young kid the same feeling. All of these adjectives don’t even do the feeling justice, but just knowing that it was something I dreamt about at night as a long-term goal was the greatest feeling in the world. It is sheer proof that dreams really can come true. I apologize for the very long break I have taken from this blog, but I unfortunately am getting swamped with homework due to the fact I am going into high school and it is very important for me to keep my grades up and stay focused because applications will begin to head out! I figured for my first blog back from my break I would do it on one of the most popular and one of personal favorite companies, Charles Ancona Equestrian!
I was completely over the moon when I bought my first Charles Ancona show jacket this past summer at Pony Finals 2015. I must say, they are very persuasive:)! I had always been drooling at the jackets but never had a chance to get one of my own for affordability reasons (they were a bit over my budget😅) but I was so happy that my parents were so flexible with their credit card because it was Pony Finals. I was walking by their booth one day with my aunt (my parents couldn't make it to the Kentucky Summer Classic show a week before so she took me up) and I just wanted to go try one on and feel the difference that everyone had been raving about over social media and at horse shows. I tried on a ton of different color combinations and sizes until I found the perfect fit! Now it was on to the colors.....I tried on a bunch of colors but personally I was always a fan of the plain collar and pockets. After trying on all of the different colors and styles I knew I needed one of these in my closet and later went back to the hotel to tell my mother all about them. I was over the moon when she said yes, I probably had a mini stroke. Oops:/! I went back the next day because I just had to get the jacket, and this was the final one I bought: Navy Show Jacket with shoulder pads, pocket under flap, tie channels, and the faux cuff! I absolutely love this jacket and the material is beyond comparable to any other jacket on the market. It is super water-resistant (which is perfect for South Florida) and is just super flexible and allows you to move freely. I recommend these jackets to anyone and especially ones who live in super rainy or super wet climate. Thank you again Charles Ancona and everyone who helped me with the purchase of this amazing jacket. On a side note, you cannot purchase one of these jackets without getting the saddle pad and T-shirt to go with it:) I will try to be a lot more active on the blog but if school gets in the way I really need to keep that as my priority. Thank you everyone for reading my blog and I can't wait to continue with this blog and see the growing success! Contact me if you would like to give me requests or a company I should review. Thank you! |
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