Lisa and Tiara join the Quest

I saw this blog on the NCDCTA website and on Face Book and I wondered what they were talking about.  So, since I show with Robyn from time to time I decided to ask.  I’m very glad I did as I didn’t realize that one of the prizes for the GAIG Championships was a jacket.   I was very excited to find that the Region 1 championships are going to be in Williamston NC this year.  Williamston is practically in my back yard (okay about an hour away), as I live just outside of New Bern, NC on 10 acres with my husband, 4 horses, 2 dogs and too many barn cats to count (I have 3 Maine Coon’s in the house).

And the timing just couldn’t of been better for me.  My husband and I are retired Marines and for the first time since I joined the Marine Corps way back when, I finally have the time to seriously pursue my riding.   My youngest is off in college, I have finally gotten my dream of being able to take care of my own horses and I have a horse that I think can finally get me beyond first level one day!

Tiara has been a bit of a challenge as I bought her as a green 4 year old on the advice of a trainer friend from Louisiana, where we lived when we retired from the Marines.  I hadn’t ridden a green horse AND a mare for many years and the first year was very challenging.  But last fall we finally felt ready to take the plunge and try the recognized dressage shows at training level.  And we have made many friends along the way and had a lot of fun showing here.  She can still be a bit looky and sometimes has her own ideas but all in all she is coming along very well.  When I heard that the GAIG’s were going to be in Williamston I decided to go ahead and try to qualify.  We got our first qualifying score last fall at Harvest Moon and our second one at Dressage in the Sandhills in May.   At Summertime Blues we made the big step to showing first level 1 and 2 and even though she was very energetic in that awful heat, we did okay.

So now we’re just trying to figure out whether or not to try to also qualify at First Level, but First Level test 4 is a big jump.  But just being qualified at training level and getting to be a part of the GAIG’s is very exciting for me this year.  I have waited a lot of years to try and do something like this and I have a horse I love very much.  So my main goal is to keep her happy and sound in our journey and to enjoy ourselves as much as we can along the way.    As I get time I’ll try and keep you posted on our progress and our plans.  Right now I’m trying to decide whether to show at Labor of Love or to wait for the Fall Pinehurst show, or to try going to both.