United States Eventing Association

Road to the AEC: Count-Down

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

It’s Saturday night and like most college students with horses, I am at home, doing work for an Astronomy lab. That’s the bad news. The good news is that I will be skipping this lab because I will be at the AEC! Creating a scale model of our Solar system is tedious work, and I much rather be packing. But then I would miss out on that last-minute packing stress that seems to accompany every trip so play-dough planets it is. Plus, there is a certain thrill that accompanies telling your professors on the first day of classes that you will be missing the entire second week!

Ollie and I leave for Georgia on Tuesday, and I have a lot on my mind. Loudoun Horse Trials did not go as planned (those darn letter again!). I’m still learning to ride the German the way he wants to be ridden, and he is vas demanding in de vays he vants to be riidden! Earlier this year I was talking to a friend who was having trouble with her horse and dropped down a level to sort some things out. Her words of wisdom were, “Learning sucks. I just want to win!” It’s so true! And yet, “no pain, no gain.” So I downed my pain with a mango smoothie from Smoothie Lady and thought, “No worries, it’s the cream filling that counts!” Ollie and I continue to figure each other out and have one final Labor Day schooling derby before heading South.

It seems that freaking out about Loudoun did me no good, but never fear! I am not freaking out about the AEC. There are far too many things taking up my brain space. Such as, “Why does the green-broke pony try to climb the three-board fence every time I get on it? Wouldn’t bucking me off be easier?” And “Why did I sign up for three online classes when my Internet at home never seems to work?” The proverb “shooting yourself in the foot” has never seemed more real, and the AEC is starting to look like a grand vacation when compared to this past week!

What I love about the AEC is that it’s packed with students and working adults who are taking time out of their lives to compete. So I won’t be the only person on her laptop, listening to Management 301 lectures, and contemplating the intricacies of organizational behavior, all while watching Advanced dressage. But if you do see someone comparing the life of a working student to an office temp then that’s probably me – I will see you soon!