United States Eventing Association

It might all be different had I not had the window seat on the plane. I was 14 years old, and it was over spring break of my freshman year of high school. My mom was having a business conference out at a swanky resort in San Diego, and very graciously invited me to come along, and since I had never really been to California and loved going any place new, I immediately agreed. I will never forget the view from that window as we flew into Southern California at sunset. First, the strange geometric patterns of irrigated fields out in the desert, circles of green improbably laid over a canvas of tan. Then, the aggressively rugged peaks of the desert mountains (so different than the soft and lazy mountains of New England) appeared, painted red and gold in the decreasing light. Finally, we came out over the ocean at sunset, and my eyes greedily drank in the entire scene–the purpling sky, the cobalt water flecked with gold, the impossibly green hills and chocolate mountains all jumbled together and kissed with the light of a falling sun–with wonder: I had never seen a thing so beautiful, so sparkling, and so full of mysterious promise.

(Above: Ringo and Kate at Galway Downs in November 2009. Photo: McCool Photos)

(Left: The rolling green hills of central California. Kate Erickson photo)

From that moment on, the lure of California was irresistible. Despite my love for my New England home, when it came time for college I jumped at the opportunity to embrace viscerally that sense of promise that I had sensed from the window seat of a plan four years earlier. Leaving my little farm in northern Massachusetts behind, I set out to coastal California with two horses in tow, in pursuit of education–academic, equestrian, and the ultimate understanding of that wonder that had never stopped whispering to me through the intervening years.

My name is Kate Erickson. I’m 20 years old and a die-hard New Englander. I love the Red Sox, anything to do with the history of Boston (I’ve even dragged my best friends from college around The Freedom Trail), and I wish more than anything that I had a Boston accent (or could fake one as well as my brother can). I love the rich wooded greenness of my home town in Massachusetts, the seasonality (though I hate snow),even the humidity and the bugs. I’ve been living in California for a year and a half now, and just a month ago decided to take some time off from college so that I could ride full-time with Gina Miles.

Winter in New England. Tom Erickson photo.

This blog is the story of my adventures and perhaps misadventures during my year off. I’ll try to share what I’m learning–both from Gina’s teaching and from the school of hard knocks (I have no illusions!). I know I’m lucky to have a year to focus, as an amateur, on something we all love and usually have to juggle amid many other priorities. I hope you’ll share this ride with me.

"Winter" in California is a misnomer. Not only is January the greenest and most verdant time of the year in the central coast, it is also the last, most fervent period of preparation before the competition season begins in earnest. The spring season starts in California in just three weeks! After growing up spending January wading through snow bareback and wondering if the ground will ever even reappear, let alone be good enough to gallop on, the California schedule certainly has taken some adjusting to.

(Winter in California! Beth Fisher photo. )

My two wonderful horses (more on them in my next post) are safely stabled at Gina’s farm in Atascadero and gearing up. My number one guy and I have already gone on some gallops at Rainbow Ranch, the facility where Gina trained McKinlaigh for all of his major competitions and officially one of the most gorgeous places on the planet, learned the new 2010 dressage tests (well… sort of), and have even gone to HITS to spend a week working on the dreaded show jumping!

And already I’ve learned so much. My horses (and my own body) are straighter, I am sitting taller in the saddle, and I’m slowly figuring out how to coordinate my aids on my new horse, who is hot, sensitive, and the complete opposite of anything I have ever ridden before (and man, is he fun!!). I’ve learned that there is little more fun than a morning gallop at Rainbow Ranch in the winter when the hills are green and the ground impossibly perfect for horses. I’ve discovered that the folks at Trader Joe’s will remember you and your name if you wander in in riding clothes and smelling enough like a barn to be really memorable (which I always am), and that nothing erases a bad day like a drive up to Big Sur at sunset with a picnic dinner to eat while watching the waves. I’ve reaffirmed that horses are amazing, that horses are comedians, and that horses are tragic; I’ve also reaffirmed that there really is no better feeling than being on the back of a horse, and– while I won’t ever be a professional rider–that a life without these creatures is profoundly without meaning.

The world is best seen from the back of a horse. Kate Erickson photo.

Winter sunset at HITS Thermal. Kate Erickson photo.

As for me, I am not yet settled in–my non-riding time is focused on scrambling for an apartment. Meanwhile, Gina has kindly welcomed me into her home (literally – I am writing this from her daughter’s bedroom, where I have been sleeping for the past few weeks!) and treated me like a member of her own family.

The next stop is schooling at Ram Tap in just under two weeks. Keep your fingers crossed the rain will finally stop and that I’m able to practice that elusive galloping position!