Dreams Come True at the Festival of Champions

Submitted by Suzannah Rogers

The excitement of waking up and knowing we leave for a national championship was unreal! We loaded up Rush on the trailer, said goodbye to my father and pets and jumped into the truck! It was going to take us 12 hours to get to our rest stop. The drive was very tedious. I filled my time by studying videos of me riding and then I worked on visualizing my rides. We finally made it to our rest area in Chandler, Indiana. Rush was so happy to get off the trailer, he rolled around in his nice big stall at the layover barn. We gave him hay, water and grain and said goodnight. The next day we had a lesson, he was amazing. He had lots of resting to do. I had a good feeling about the championships. The following morning, we rode again. He was a good boy and we loaded up and headed the rest of the way to Lamplight Equestrian Center.

Turning into the drive of Lamplight really made me feel like an important rider. All the riders here had trained and worked hard to be invited here. Rush was settled after a good long walk. Wednesday, we checked in with show coordinators. Our number was 466, that was our lucky number. Later that day, Rush and I rode and we were on fire! George Williams was there training other riders in the ring. There was a lot of pressure then. Rush and I had a lot of meditating to do before Saturday and Sunday. Thursday, we had our jog which was a cool experience. I had on a black skort from Kastel Denmark and a bright yellow sun shirt also from Kastel Denmark, with white converses and a black vest. I looked sharp, Rush looked very handsome. Friday, we had a run through with second level test 1. Saturday was the longest day ever; our class was the last of the day. I tacked Rush up and got myself ready and then we prayed to thank God for getting us here and wishing everyone luck and safety. I walked into the warm up and there I saw all of the competition. I knew I needed to focus on Rush and that’s just what I did. We were on deck and the rider in front of me had a bad fall, which was very nerve racking for me. I trotted in the ring and I became so nervous. The bell rang and I picked up the canter and up centerline I went. I halted and saluted and then my nerves went away. I rode with power and precision. Coming up centerline I felt like our ride was terrific after I saluted I started crying, because I was proud of Rush and myself. There were four more riders to go, I was so excited to have won the first day! Sunday I came back with more power and precision, I knew it was going to be a tough day. I did everything the same. After the last ride, my heart was beating so fast. I couldn’t believe I had won! I was the 2017 USEF National Dressage Pony Rider Champion! I jumped off and hugged my pony. My mom, my trainer and the pony had tears in their eyes. It has been a dream to come to the championships and win! I kept asking myself did I really just win? I had one request from home. It was my dad’s birthday and he wanted me to do my best. I did better than that, I won! After the victory gallop and all the pictures it was time to go home. We loaded Rush up into the trailer and came home. This was a dream come true!