Saying goodbye

I am in the process of taking my last final exams as an undergrad and packing all of my belongings to prepare for my move to Cincinnati. I'm going to miss a lot of things about Ohio University, but I think I might miss the Equestrian Team the most.

I've had a great few years riding with the team. I have learned so much from my coach and fellow riders and have made some great friends along the way. I have been able to ride so many different wonderful horses, and was even fortunate enough to make strong bond with one horse in particular -- Gump.

I've been riding Gump almost every day since this summer. We've been through a lot together as we worked on building up his confidence over fences after he had some lameness issues. We competed at a show together this summer and I've been leasing him all quarter. I'm going to miss Gump and his quirky personality a lot as I make my way home. Saying goodbye to a horse you've shared a bond with is always difficult., but I know Gump is in good hands here with OUET. And I'm sure I'll be back to visit!


Thanksgiving is in a few days, and I know I'll be listing the Team and all of the benefits I've gained from riding through college in all the things I'm thankful for.

Showing in the Cold

OUET at the end of the day on Sunday.

The team traveled to Painesville, Ohio, this past weekend. We were there to compete at a horse show hosted by Lake Erie College. It's hard to know what to expect whenever we travel to a horse show -- there's always horses we've never seen before and different ways shows are run -- but we can always expect one thing when we go to LEC: it will be COLD.

And this weekend was no exception. However, we were all pleasantly surprised that there wasn't any snow on the ground this trip. LEC has an indoor ring, of course, but it's insulated like a hockey rink and stays colder inside than it is outside.

Our morale stayed high the entire weekend despite the cold. We did not do as well overall as at our show. We got Reserve Champion Team on Saturday and placed third as a team on Sunday. I think this show was a good wake-up call to some of our freshman girls. They've now realized how hard they're going to have to work to stay first place in the region! The other teams are going to put up some stiff competition this year (Ohio State and LEC being our biggest competitors), but hopefully OU will work hard enough to stay ahead.

My rides this weekend were rather disappointing. My over-fences class on Saturday was certainly not my best. I drew a Thoroughbred gelding named Shrek. He was a sweet guy, and I have to give him credit for doing a good job. I just didn't feel very "in the zone," and the ride didn't go as well as it could have. I placed 4th in that class.

I felt like I had a really great ride in both of my flat classes (one on Saturday, one on Sunday), but I placed 6th (the lowest place that gets a ribbon) on both days! I was disappointed, because I knew I had had good rides both days. My coach, not shy to tell you what you've done wrong, even said to me, "Hannah, I don't know what happened. I thought you had first place." But that is all a part of horse showing. It is a subjective sport and you are only being judged by one person. Maybe the judge doesn't like your style of riding, or maybe they just didn't see you in a sea of horses and navy blue hunt coats. Sometimes you just have to deal with being disappointed and I took comfort in the fact that I at least got approval from my coach.

So it was a rather anti-climactic way to end my time as an IHSA rider. I will be graduating in about two weeks and won't be able to compete intercollegiately anymore. IHSA does have an alumni division though, so maybe I'll make my way back into the IHSA show ring someday. Showing IHSA has been a fun, challenging experience, but I think I'm ready to move on and get back to going to "real" horse shows.