2020 has been a terrible year for most everyone in the world who understands and comprehends science, pandemics, and human behavior. It started out bad for me, before the pandemic. In February I had a bad fall at a horse show and that set me back about six weeks, also taking away my confidence (as bad falls tend to do). I could not ride, do barn chores or anything that required the use of my right shoulder. But no surgery, so there was a silver lining to that story, maybe?
We recovered a little bit just before the pandemic hit in early March and Madda and I managed to show one more time and we actually won in a big division. So the year was starting to look good for us again. But then the pandemic hit so we were forced to stay on the farm like everyone else. Given how our year had been so far, this was not a huge problem.
Like everyone else, we waited it out hoping that by early summer we'd be back competing again when things opened up in early July here in Virginia. But then in very early July, a reckless driver took me out - going 60 in a 25 mph zone - knocking me off the road (an 8000 pound truck with 1000 pounds of hay in the bed) and my truck was toast. So as I was getting ready to show again, I suddenly was without a vehicle. Trucks are expensive and hard to find and my dilemma was that my gooseneck trailer is an older model that I was not willing to part with so that limited what type of truck I could buy. The newer trucks are much taller around the sides and many would not work with my trailer. And I needed an eight foot bed too. It was not going to be a quick find.
Hubby searched high and low and we finally found a vehicle in August. We went to Pennsylvania to see it and bring it home but then we had to reconfigure the trailer to make it all work. And you can't get an appointment for the DMV for 2 1/2 months here in Virginia. So I have a truck and trailer now, but it is not yet licensed in Virginia (and won't be for over a month), the trailer is not inspected either. So I was thinking that maybe by late October I will be showing again?
Then Madda came down lame. She's a sound little mare as a general rule so I am not certain what the issue is but if she does not show improvement in a few more days, the vets will be called in. So what else could go wrong this year in this department? So we have been set back at minimum a few weeks and at maximum, who knows......
So last night I was thinking and made the decision that we would just write this year off for horse showing. We'll wait until December and we'll pick it back up in the new year. I needed a goal (I always need a goal when I ride) and I did not really have one this year. I've worked at a few large rated shows this year and it inspired me to ride again at that level. I missed my friends from that world and after watching some of the horses go that I would compete with, it made me realize that we can be in there again if we put the work in. We just have to get going.
So this is a wasted year in many respects but perhaps there is a silver lining somewhere. Madda will be well-rested when we re-enter the horse show world, with a new focus and a new goal. Stay safe!
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