Thank you to Boulder Valley Dressage for your support over the years and now for the opportunity to be this month's BVD featured member. 

Dressage has been a part of my life since I was four-years old. I had just moved to Boulder from Los Angeles during the summer and my sister and I were rather lonely seeing that we were the new kids on the block. My mom signed us up for a kids' riding camp at Green Tree, run by Julie Barringer-Richers. My sister and I loved it and immediately caught the riding bug. I continued to ride, just once a week in a lesson with Julie, every Wednesday after school.

When I was seven, my parents decided to buy Autumn Hill International Equestrian Center boarding facility, which was literally a half-a-mile up the road from our house. I rode Edelweiss, a leased school horse 3-4 days a week; however I spent every day on the property, exploring the land and my imagination. My sister and I would play games from sun up to sun down, walking along the creek, sledding in the winter or riding on trails. When I was ten-years old, I was lucky enough to find the best equestrian, pony partner SP Hollywood Eclipse, a spunky little paint that loved to gallop on the trail as well as please you in the arena (but only if you asked with a "please" and "thank you").

It was then that I started to pursue dressage with a more serious passion, especially in the show ring. I started working for my trainer, Julie's daughter, Greta Vowell. I spent roughly 82 hours a week at the barn, trying to learn all I could and develop the discipline it took to be an elite rider. I knew what every horse ate, where they were pastured and who they went out with. I understood what it took to run a show. I knew how much a bale of hay cost depending on where it came from and how many bales were needed to sustain the barn for a month or a year.

It wasn't long before I learned about the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships. I watched the older girls at the barn go through the qualifying process. I cleared the arena many times so they could practice their freestyles, but I never minded. I would stand in the corner on my little 1st level pony's back, watching girls like Leigh Romano, Tyler Haney, Danielle Culver, Anna Ross McKirnan and Greta Barringer-Richers all practice and train. It was inspiring and I knew that one day that would be me.    

The journey to the NAJYRC, however, was filled with heartbreak, disappointment and growing experiences. There were countless times I thought I had it all figured out and that everything was lined up and I was ready to try for one for the four spots on the Region Five team. Then something would go disastrously wrong. One of the times, I had finally found my first Junior Horse hopeful named Lupo. He wasn't at the level he needed to be for Juniors so I had to wait another year in order to solidify his training at third level. However, through the course of that year, Lupo told us, very strongly and clearly, he did not like dressage and I had to sell him, making it the third year in a row I wasn't going to be able to try. It was devastating.

It is a wonderful thing to want something with incredible passion and focus, however it is very unhealthy and potentially detrimental to lose sight of why you began the journey in the first place. I was so focused on making the team, on moving up the levels, that I had forgotten why I did this sport...for the pure joy that being on a horse brings. After three years in a row of not even being able to begin the qualifying process, I decided to go back to the roots, and relive the reason why I rode-for fun! I went on more trail rides, I taught my horse tricks like how to bow and come to me on voice command. We dressed up in costumes for Halloween shows and bobbed for apples. I left what I thought was a broken dream behind me and enjoyed my more balanced life.

When I was 17, the year I would turn 18, (you are only eligible for Juniors until the year you turn 18) I realized it was my last year, but I did not dwell on it. My parents however, decided to buy me another upper level horse. When they brought that idea up to me, I rejected it immediately. I didn't want to go down that road again. But after a few weeks of sleeping on it, I decided I didn't want to look back 10 years down the road and wonder "what if?" I agreed to go look for a horse, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. It just so happened to be the very first horse I looked at seemed like a winner to me. I flew out to Jan Ebeling's barn, in CA, and I tried a 14 -year old Oldenburg Gelding that had been trained through PSG. He had a lot of potential, but the training wasn't all there. He gave me his all, right off the bat and that was the deciding factor, and I knew he would be trainable. Not to mention, he was a total sweetheart and love-bug on the ground. Power Play, or "Player" as he is known around the barn, (yes, he is a ladies man) made my forgotten dreams come true. 

Photo: Susan J. Stickle

We made the Junior Team last year after being together for only three months. Stepping off the plane in Lexington, Kentucky was a shock. It was like walking into a wall of heat. I had never been in humidity like that before. Working in the barn was like doing Bikram Yoga constantly. You were always sweating! The whole experience was amazing and bringing home the team silver medal, fourth individually and seventh in the freestyle was only icing on an already very sweet cake. Player and I continued to work together and improve over the winter, pushing hard to make that difficult jump from third level to Prix St. Georges. I decided to go ahead and try for the Young Rider team this year even though the team looked as though it would be the most competitive year yet, with 16 riders declared, and all of them being solid competitors. Thirteen of those sixteen qualified for the team. Eleven of them qualified with over a 65% and the fourth spot on the team was filled with a 67.6%. I had no idea how I would fare among such talented athletes, so I was over the moon when I took the second spot on the team with a 69.7% median and 3rd in the country. 

The experience at Young Riders was even better than the year before. I had a blast with my team mates, Brandi Roenick, Maddie Birch, and Victoria Fernalld. Every day we laughed till we cried, and some days, we cried until we laughed. The team was a family, always supportive and always smiling. The Region Five Young Riders brought home team gold for the third year in a row, a NAJYRC record. Standing on the podium, hearing your country's national anthem play, while sharing it with your team, family and friends was an experience and feeling I will never forget. The rest of the week was a success, competing with the most competitive young riders in NAJYRC history; it was a learning curve and inspiring. I came in seventh individually with a 68.9% and seventh in the freestyle with a 66.9%. 

I am so grateful to have had such an opportunity, so I want to extend a huge thank you to my parents, Merrie and Jeffrey Wycoff, my trainer, Jenny Baldwin, Heather Petersen, and Joan Clay and everyone else who showed me such support along the way.

My one bit of advice for all aspiring young riders is to follow your dreams with passion and focus but don't forget what keeps you in this sport. Young Riders may seem like the ultimate goal, the competition to be at, but in the long run, whether you medal, place, compete or even make it to NAJYRC, it will not define your riding career. What is most important is your love of horses and the amazing feeling it brings to ride them.

Thank you again to Boulder Valley Dressage for this great opportunity to share my story!