My first European competiton

My first European competition with Igrene…

Today was my first competition in Holland…at least it was supposed to be…

I got up early (I'm OK doing that only if it's for a competition…); all the equipment was already in the truck, clean and ready. The bandages for traveling were already on the horse, the blanket too, and then we put all the horses on the truck.

I have to admit, it was already raining when we left the stable.

After driving for an hour, we got to the competition, and instead of the worming up arena, we found a swimming pool…

Caroline had already said on the way that she thinks that today's competition would be canceled, but I had what Vibe once said settled in my mind: that even if it rains; the competitions in Holland are NEVER canceled!

So, today they did!

Yep, Murphy's Law works every time.

Let's go back one week in time.

Now imagine this situation, I'm having lunch with Caroline, Vibe and Wendy. Then Vibe said that there's a show next week, on Sunday. Do you want to go? And I answered, from deep down inside of me: "NO." Because we already had a competition scheduled for the next week and I didn't want to compete too much. Igrene is a good 11 years old, she jumps with lots of love, and I want to keep her that way.

Then Caroline said:” yes, but you need to compete, you need to train your horse…”

That upset me, I really want to become the best rider I can, but if that means that my horse will have to work double, then I’ll buy another horse and train with him, or find another way to ride other horses to train more. I really feel that this horse doesn’t need too much training, and that jumping every week during a show would be harmful for her jumping abilities.

So Vibe sat with me after lunch, and we made a schedule for the upcoming month, to figure out how we could participate in competition, and still not jump too much with Igrene.

We found a good enough solution, but the final say was gods. And that was, for sure, the right one. God's plan this time was exactly like mine; he also didn't want this competition for me…

If I may, I have to say it out loud. I want to be in France. I don't know why, but my stomach tells me that that's the right place for me to be in.

Yesterday, Nancy, my former trainer from Israel left me a message; she said that she misses me and wanted to check if everything is OK. So today I called back, and told her my situation, and also about my wishing to be in France. She immediately pulled out a name- Michel Ismalun, who has a stable in France.

Ok, so now I already tracked him down, and I’m waiting for a reply to see and hear more details about the place he has, the costs, etc.

I also happen to know a really sweet woman from France, who also owns a stable, but it's a dressage one, and besides, they don't have an indoor…so in the winter that can and will be a problem…but I do want to meet her too, and explore my opportunities in this place as well.

Apart from that, I already have connections with Jean Marc Nicolas, but I haven't been to his place yet.

I feel like a trip to France is on the way…the only question is when and how…