Nationals!!
The show that everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived. It's time to travel to Massachusetts and watch the best of the best of the intercollegiate world compete. Unfortunately Del Val did not win our region this year, we lost to University of Delaware after TWO tie breakers, so it was a close season but we will not be bringing riders to Nationals this year. However, that does not mean that we will miss out on the competition because we were asked to bring two of our horses for the competition, Helmert and Delmonte.
Even though we were all disappointed that there were no riders competing from our school we were excited to root on the teams and riders from our region. It was actually kind of nice for my first attendance to nationals to be able to have to time to sit and watch the classes. The amount of fancy, talented horses was absolutely astonishing, one was prettier than the next.
Watching the riders compete is absolutely inspiring. The more you watch these riders go the more you want to go out and try it yourself. The riders are all amazing and make even the hardest Cacchione cup test look easy.
Just being at nationals makes you appreciate the hard work and talent of each and every one of the students that qualified. Bringing home a ribbon from the national IHSA horse show is a huge deal and from the smiles on the rider's faces you could see that they understand what an honor it is to be recognized in the top ten. I just wanted to take the time to congratulate our horse Delmonte on leading one rider to a first place finish and another to a reserve finish! We were all so very proud.
Watching the IHSA nationals was an awesome experience... if you ever get the chance to come out and watch it I would recommend it. The amount of skill it takes to catch ride the way these students do is unbelievable. It is refreshing to see so many excellent horses and riders all at one show. Next year nationals will be held in California so hopefully Del Val will be sending competitors because California sounds like fun. :-)
posted by Sara Gumbiner @ 5:44 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Sara,
What are you majoring in at college? How long have you been riding and what barn did you ride at before going to college? Thanks!
Hello Sara,I just came across this nice blog and couldn't help but add my 2cents. I am surrounded by horses I rent off a mennonite lady who has her Lucy parked right behind the house that I'm in and we are in the heart of mennonite country so everyday we see them trotting into town and back what a site! I had one as a kid but that was the last time but hopefully again someday!
There is a game that i love to play. You are a riding a show jumping horse and have to complete the course you will absolutely fall in love with this game. http://www.oxidearcade.com/index.php/game/2468/
If i find more I will post Heres to riding!! Thumbs up
Your blog is so great! I hope to be doing what you are doing in college. How did you choose your school? How can I find out more about intercollegiate equestrian life?
Pony,
I fell in love with Delaware Valley College as soon as I stepped on campus. Since I was interested in majoring in Equine Studies I made sure that the equine program was excellent. I had looked at a few schools but Del Val won me over. I liked that it is small, the instructors are very talented, they have a wide range of horses and the IHSA team has a very good reputation. The other selling point of the school was the close connection they have with Hartbury College in England. This relationship gives students the opportunity to study abroad which I have always been interested in doing. If you are interested in learning more about IHSA you can always visit the IHSA website or I am more than willing to answer any questions you may have. I am very excited that you are interested in riding IHSA, it is a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I hope you are enjoying my blog!
Sara
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