Lipica CDI

The weekend of June 15-17 saw us in Slovenia at the Lipcia CDI. This was such a beautiful show because it is held right on the historical Lipica Stud Farm, where the Lipizzaners come from. For more info see: http://www.lipica.org/en/

The drive to Lipica was beautiful, because from where I live here in Germany you have to cross through the Alps to get to Slovenia, and driving through all those mountains sure reminded me of our good ol' Canadian Rockies!

We arrived on the wednesday and had one day to school before the Grand Prix on Friday. After I finished my Grand Prix test I came out of the ring, and I have to admit it always takes me a bit to digest all of my emotions after a test, because my brain starts going at high speed, and I start thinking about all the things that worked well and (of course) because there is ALWAYS room for improvement, I think about what I could have been better... Plus my trainer, Heike, is a perfectionist, so the first thing she did is list off the things that weren't yet perfect (very German!), and then she says... "But you won, so you must have done some things right!"... This really took a while for it to sink in! I actually won :-) This was the first Grand Prix I have ever won so it was a very special moment for me.  We scored a 68.617%, and it was the most honourable feeling to stand there with Orion under the Slovenian sun and here the Canadian national anthem play as our beautiful maple leaf flag was raised on the flag pole.

The Grand Prix Special was on Sunday and also went very well for us, 67.311% and placed third. I lost a couple valuable points because I had Orion a little too short in the neck, but that's most certainly something we can improve on. Overall it was a beautiful weekend in Slovenia and I am just so proud and thankful for Orion. There have been so many unforgettable moments and memories that I have shared with this horse and Lipica was a huge highlight!

Next week Orion and I head off to Aachen. This is a dream come true to be able to compete there :-) And after Aachen, I will be joining the rest of the Canadian team in London for training camp! Were I promise to post regular updates.