United States Eventing Association

Shannon Lilley, our newest blogger, is sharing her and Ballingowan Pizzaz’s (‘Mango’) journey to the Pan Am Games as a member of the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team. Read on to learn the latest news, and to learn more about Shannon, visit her blog and website.

I find myself going about the daily routine as normal until different things pop into my head and I think to myself, “Don’t forget to do that” or “make sure you email that person” or “you still need to do that.” There are days where I wish I could pause time so I could get everything done but since that isn’t the case, I just trust that it will happen.

(Right: Mango and his buddy Michael (‘Forgotten Emblem’) enjoy some mutually beneficial itchy-scratchy time.)

‘Preparing’ is a word I feel like we use in so many different facets of our lives. It could be used as routine as 'preparing' dinner or while riding as frequent as 'preparing' for a transition, or it could be as complicated as 'preparing' for a send-off party, an online auction, travel arrangements, and, not to mention, everyday life and work. But, nonetheless, it's all preparing. Someone said to me the other day that she was not going to be here for the next three days because she is having a party at her house. "It's a lot of work," she said. I chuckled to myself and thought, "I might know a little something about that."

I think it is partly human nature that the busier we are, the more productive we become, which is why I am so excited about this upcoming adventure. There may be a lot of preparation to make sure that everything runs smoothly while I am gone between horses getting ridden, fed, lessons getting taught and the barn being managed. I do believe that it will all be worth it in the end. I have such a huge support group behind me at Flying Tail Farms that they are making this next trip all that much more special. Each person there drives me to be better, especially my coach. I will be gone for a little over a month and I am so excited for the journey on which Mango and I are about to embark.

Stay tuned for more journey details…

Shannon