I had the pleasure of attending three of the University of Georgia's Equestrian competitions this past weekend. Three competitions in two days, in two states! The bonus of this trip allowed me to see family that I haven't seen in a few years.
I flew into Oklahoma City on Thursday. Two things that were a bonus to this particular flight. One, it was my first time flying to the OKC airport and my hats off to you OKC! Wow! Snazzy airport! And two, the Oilers hockey team was on my flight... need I say more?! I was secretly (creepily) taking pics of some of the guys while waiting for our luggage and sending them to the girls. All in the name of good parenting!
Picked up my rental car and started my drive to Dallas, Texas! Having lived in Texas for many years and only remembering the heat, I was quickly annoyed to find it in the 40's and rainy. I was leaving Michigan for this?
Our first stop was SMU Friday morning in Dallas, Texas. It only seemed fitting that we should be greeted by longhorns driving into the farm.
UGA beat SMU 7-3. The last girl got off the horse and they immediately loaded the bus to make the hour and a half drive to TCU in Ft. Worth, Texas.
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| Emily and Coach Lisa |
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Cheering on the rider while trying to stay warm!
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| Emily van der Walde |
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More than teammates, friends.
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At TCU, both English and Western competed and UGA added another win with a score of 9-8.
Saturday morning about 7:30am we headed North 4 1/2 hours to Stillwater, Oklahoma to take on OSU! After a long day of showing, in the end, OSU captured the win 13-10 over UGA. It was bittersweet but the girls all rode well and cheered each other on to the very end.
The night didn't end after the show. The Haaland Family graciously offered to host dinner at their home after the show. We all arrived at 10pm (that is not a typo, it was 10pm!) and what a lovely time it was! The dinner was amazing, the home stunning and the overall atmosphere caused you to pause. One of the riders, one of the mom's and the coaches all spoke to team and it was at that moment, as I was standing back observing that it hit me how incredible this team and coaches truly are. I was able to spend three horse shows in two days with this group (that amounts to a LOT of time!) and I was so impressed. The level of respect the girls have for each other, the bond they have as a TEAM. They know that without each others assets, there would be no team. They are teammates in the truest sense.
The coaches: Wow, amazing ladies. I had the pleasure of meeting Hunt Seat coach Lisa Anderson this past fall at Indoors. I was fortunate that through this trip, I was able to get to know Head Coach Meghan Boenig and Western Coach Mary Meneely. Seeing their professionalism and how they interact with the girls is great. I know I speak for other parents in saying that I'm thankful that these women are leading and being examples to my daughter!
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| Coach Lisa Anderson - Hunt Seat |
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| Coach Lisa with Carly Anthony |
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| Head Coach Meghan Boenig with baby (due in June!) |
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| Coach Mary Meneely - Western |
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| Coach Boenig, Coach Mary |
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| Coach Mary and her "crew" |
So after all was said and done, there were 3 competitions, 3 different hotels, in two different states, very little sleep with cold and rain! Flying home on the plane today feeling completely exhausted, I couldn't help but smile when I thought of the weekend and yes, I'd do it all again!
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