The Life of an Equestrian Teen, Continued...

Here I am, on a Monday evening, ready to tell you about the sacrifices I have once again made for my equestrian career.
...ok. I really made no sacrifice. Unless you count my grades...or my sanity, maybe. Or sleep. Yes, that's it. I sacrificed my sleep.

Today, me and my mom once again braved the seven hour round trip to go see Tyler, the horse we've been interested in buying (see The Life of an Equestrian Teen and Meet The Parents, October 2007). This time, however, my riding instructor/trainer/WAHSET coach tagged along so he could mee the horse in person. My instructor already fell in love with Tyler on the DVD he watched of the horse, and when we finally arrived (a long three and a half hours later...) my instructor was not dissapointed.
My instructor said that Tyler was "well represented" and would be a very good horse for me to learn on & progress with through open/local shows, WAHSET, and even breed circuit, which would be a literal dream come true for me. My instructor thought Tyler was a fantastic horse, and besides the fact that he was a little unfit (the reason the owners were selling him was because they couldn't spend enough time working with him), my instructor thought Tyler was perfect. We started saying things like "should we bring the trailer tomorrow or Wednesday?" and "when we get him home..." The owner kept saying "I'll have to come watch you show sometime..."
That's right. If the vet check is smooth sailing, Tyler will be coming home to live with us as early as Wednesday afternoon.
This is extremelly exciting for me. I've been a year without being able to really ride because of poor Smokey, and now that I may have a sound horse to work with, I'm going to be able to focus my attention on what I really want; horse shows. I can concentrate on making myself a better rider, instead of worrying about my horse.
But at the same time, if Tyler comes home on Wednesday, that means Smokey leaves tomorrow. I know he's not going far (just to Grandma's house), but I'm still going to miss him terribly... I just can't imagine going out to feed the horses and not seeing my pretty boy out in his stall... Smokey's not making this any easier on me, either. He's an extremelly expressive horse, and likes to give me the "you're a bad mommy" look when I come home smelling "like another man". It makes me feel horrible, and then I give him lots of treats... poor pathetic, easily manipulated me.
But I'm still excited about the chance to have a horse to really ride now. I know Smokey isn't going away...just "relocating". It will be hard not having him around, but as my girl Reno said, "sometimes, to get what you really want, you need to be willing to make sacrifices." Amen, sista!

Speaking of quotes... Oh my word, you can't even imagine a seven hour road trip with my riding instructor unless you've met him personally. I swear he didn't stop talking a second we were in the car; the only time he was quiet was when we were in the resteraunt having lunch, and he got distracted by the football game playing on the TV's. But the whole drive, he was telling some stories...you wouldn't even belive the stories...
Anyway, I heard a lot of interesting things in that car today...but my favorite road trip quote??

[Horse show ribbons] are like a drug. You get one, and then you want more...and more...and more... ~My Instructor

I havn't been to a horse show since March, and havn't won a ribbon since February.
I need a fix!!
But my instructor told me not to worry...he told me I'd be winning hundreds of ribbons soon enough. And as he said about Tyler... "You'd kick butt on this horse. You'd kick some serious butt..."
Sounds good to me. Now Lord, PLEASE let the vet check run clean...

So, waking up at four in the morning meant sacrificing sleep. Missing school to go look at a horse meant sacrificing my grades. And spending seven hours listening to my riding instructor talk, plus the lack of sleep, most likely cost me my sanity.
Ah, what a life.