United States Eventing Association

This past weekend Ollie and I competed in the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials in Victor, NY as prep for the AEC. Our next and final outing before going to Georgia will be Loudoun Hunt Horse Trials in Leesburg, VA (which is thankfully seven hours closer to home than New York).

(Katie and Ollie competing at the Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials where they placed fifth in a very competitive Open Training Division. Leslie Mintz Photos.)

Some people (i.e. my parents) have asked me, “Why on earth are you going all the way to Georgia for a Training level horse trial?” And my answer is, “Because it will be super freaking cool! So here are the reasons why you should attend the AEC.

Reason #1: IT’S A MANDATORY OUTING FOR WEG!” The best horses and riders in the country are going to be there. Watching cross-country on Saturday will be a free lesson from the top riders in the country…can’t beat that! If you didn’t make it to Rolex and you are not going to WEG, here is your chance! Didn’t qualify for the AEC? Come as a spectator: it’s free! (And you can’t say that about WEG. That’s for sure.)

Reason #2: it is rumored that Chattahoochee Hills is gorgeous. I’ve never been there so it is sure to be an adventure! Plus, this is a great opportunity to expand my cultural knowledge by traveling to Georgia. Did you know that, according to Wikipedia.com, Georgia’s state animal is an opossum called "Pogo Possum?” In my state (good ol’ VA) dogs eat opossum so I’m really excited to see one playing dead as opposed to being dead (for more varmint-killing stories visit my blog!)

Reason #4: Land Rover is the title sponsor, and I have heard from reliable sources that there will be a Land Rover XC course that you can drive a Land Rover on, like there was at Rolex! I was so jealous of my friend’s shaky video from the backseat as her friend drove the Land Rover went up and down giant hills. I have to try it! The closest I’ve come to such shenanigans was getting my truck stuck in four feet of snow. And ya’ll thought Pine Top Horse Trials was bad…plu-ease.

Reason #5: SMOOTHIE LADY FROM AREA II IS GOING TO BE THERE. She emailed me to let me know that she is reading my blog and is going to be there too!! Event Organizers, I have a confession to make: I pick what horse trials to compete at based on whether or not I think Smoothie Lady is going to be there. Seriously. The dressage warm up could be too small, the cross-country course could ride terribly, and the show jumping could be too hard, but this will all be forgotten after a mango smoothie at the end of the day. They are that good. So of course I have to go to the AEC and get a smoothie from Joni! (That’s Smoothie Lady’s real name. Learning that Smoothie Lady has a real name is like learning that your elementary teachers do not live at school. It was a bit mind blowing.) There are going to be two carts but the new-looking one is special because Joni’s husband recently built it. So go admire the handiwork and get yourself a fabulous smoothie while you are there!

Katie Hasse is a rising Junior at George Mason University where she is majoring in marketing and photography. You can find out more about her on her website. Ollie is a seven-year old, Holsteiner from Germany who likes carrots, being turned out with his buddies, and spooking in order to avoid any serious dressage work. They live in Upperville, Virginia.