United States Eventing Association

USEA Member Story #58

This is the 58th entry in the USEA’s Member Story Series. Help us reach our goal of over 300 stories – email your story to Leslie.

Eventers Anonymous: The Tale of How Victoria Kager Became An Eventing Junkie

“You can get something more push button if you stick with her for the winter”. That’s what my parents told me when they finally caved in to my relentless begging for a horse. At that point, I was at a local hunter barn, leasing a ho-hum lesson pony who failed to live up to his name of “Mega Bux”. The winter of 2007, I was lucky enough to receive my grandparents’ lovely field ornament as a project. Or so I thought. As time went on, I came to realize that the beloved “Maggie Moo” was not cut out to be a Children’s Hunter Pony. Her conformation was poor, her possibility of earning a pony card was questionable, and her training was essentially nonexistent.

Despite our limitations, I stuck with Maggie all winter. Furthermore, I refused to give her back to my grandparents come spring. Maggie was meant to be mine, I was sure of that. After over a year of being told that Maggie could jump no higher, would never have a lead change, and that I should probably just buy a new horse, I was fed up with the pressures of the hunter world. My mom, having grown up in Pony Club, thought that Maggie and I would enjoy the exciting world of eventing. In the spring of 2009, we moved to an all-around barn, joined Pony Club, and since then, we haven’t looked back.

It hasn’t been easy and, no, we’re not event super stars; Far from it. Through the many times when I seriously considered giving up (and I'm sure Maggie would have loved to give up on me if given the chance), we have worked through our troubles and overcome great obstacles. Our dressage is a constant (and sometimes seemingly futile) work in progress, our stadium is slowly but surely coming under careful control, and our cross-country is hardly spectacular. But what makes my eventing experience so special is that Maggie and I have worked our way up together.

We spent the entire year of 2009 learning the ropes of Pony Club, finishing off the year by leading our team to a fourth place finish at D Eventing Rally (it seemed impressive at the time). In the spring of 2010, we plunged right into the “real deal”; recognized events. We completed three Beginner Novices, qualifying for Pony Club Champs, and shipped down to Virginia, where our team came in third in the East Coast. This was proof enough for my parents that my little mare and I would be safe at the Novice level. We completed a Novice (horrendously) in October. This February, Maggie, her “brother” (my new OTTB project), and I all made the trip down to Aiken, South Carolina to train under Sally Cousins. With this amazing experience, Maggie’s performance skyrocketed, and we had our best event yet while on our training trip. When the event season started back up in Area II, we bumped up and completed our first two Training events in May. It’s been, truly, the time of my life, and my little almost-pony is not done giving me everything she’s got. Eventing is an adrenaline rush, an addiction, and a once in a lifetime occurrence- that I will likely experience for the rest of my life.