Journey to Rio

Paralympics 2016

10-22-13

We have bumped up my riding to get ready for competition in February.  Its been fun to ride more and I am learning more.  I will get to today in a little bit.  Mondays lesson was focused on teardrops and 3 serpentines.  For example: A teardrop reverse. Okay I am having a hard time putting visual to words. Look at a tear and visually look at the letters in the Dressage Arena and there you go. :-)  I will try to put words to the serpentines.  Start from H make a loop and face the S, come to the S and loop to B then loop to A and do it the other side.. Lol I don't remember the letters.  I finally caught on in that same lesson.  It was fun.  I also was riding on the right diagonals that day too. The rhythm was good with Ari and me.  

Today's ride was totally different. Cool thing happened, I was able to remember how to do each step in putting Ari's bridle on and only had verbal instruction from a kind rider name Joan (whom I really like!) when I lost what I was supposed to do with the next step.  I did it.  Wow.. Ari was awesome.  I was grateful he didn't fight me or try to mouth me.  He was very submissive to my inadequacy.. I am doing better.  This truly is a process..  Today I had mixed emotions and they came through.  Really it started last night when I needed to write about me and my challenges, overcoming them, goals and what I want to achieve from the Symposium. It really is still tough for me think about what I went through with 3 stomach and esophagus surgeries then tumor, brain surgery, car accident and another brain surgery. Then to have my counselor relay to me what the tumor and surgeries have robbed me from, was heart wrenching to me.  I know that I need to continue to understand that I have come so far in my rehabilitation. That I have been so blessed to even be walking and knowing that its a miracle that I am still living.  Okay enough… today's ride I was not remembering my diagonals as well, even the feel.  It was helpful for Marlo to tempo it out in my earpiece that I wear to hear her.  There was even some confusion on the tear drop.  I was so excited for the chance to be on lunge line for a first canter.  My balance was off so I kept going forward.  I am encouraged to know that Ari was taking care of me and so was Marlo.  Yes, I wish it would have gone differently.  However, practice will correct my balancing and sitting tooshi back. It was nice to remember my soccer days and how much I needed to practice dribbling looking up, how I kick, team work, heading the ball, corner kicks, goal kicks, throw the ball in, penalty kicks and kicks that made goals from full back.  It took amazing coaches and determination to get it done!  I am grateful that these memories have been coming back and placed for a reason.  I am suppose to go to the Paralympics and I am suppose to work hard along with my coach and Ari to make this amazing goal happen.