# Olympic Dreams start becoming reality.



## hopie22 (Jan 28, 2013)

Constructive criticism is welcome!  I took it all and re did my mistakes that I caught 


June 4th, 2002 I woke jumped out of my bed so fast I tripped over all my toy horses that were lying on my floor. I sat on my floor and looked around at all the different toy horses on my floor, most were Bryers. I was a ten year old little girl dreaming of going to the Olympics. Everyone tells you it's possible when you are young, but as the years go by they soon start to tell you it’s never going to happen. But on June 4th, I was given something that only made my dream bigger, it was my 10th birthday today I was finally getting a horse of my own again. I had one before but we sold him when my mom died. My dreams disappeared for a while after her death, And my dad was struggling to live without her. They were so happy together, but that all changed once she was gone. Daddy and I were on our own now and we were doing fine!
I still trained with my trainer at our barn we went to, I was there 4 times a week to ride. But I used her horses, however I had to get my own soon so I could start competing again. I decided that my mom would have wanted me to carry on with my dreams, she was always there to support and cheer me on every step of the way. Even though she wasn’t really there I knew she would watch me from up there. After a few minutes of sitting there I got up to walk to my dad’s room and wake him up! Walking down the hall that morning I couldn’t help but smile knowing I was getting a horse in a few hours and he or she would be all mine! I looked out the window to see what it was like outside. It was sunny and warm, the birds were singing there morning songs and flying around, our neighbor kids were outside playing with their new puppy. And just so you know the puppy was really cute! He was a Belgian Shepard named Sketch. Anyways I turned around to walk to my dad’s room but when I walked in there he wasn’t there, so I walked down the winding stairs to the kitchen. Sitting on the table was pancakes and some flowers with a note, I looked at the note and it said he was waiting in the truck for me to go out to the barn. Without eating I ran up the stairs as fast as I could and got dressed and threw my hair into a messy bun and shot down the stairs again. When I walked outside he gave me the biggest smile as I jumped in the truck quick he said happy birthday of course then I looked out the window and started to think. Being the daughter of a multi-million dollar family, I was a pretty lucky little girl. But even though we were rich my family was very nice and didn’t take anything for granted, I always said please and thank you and never asked for more then I needed. After all my thinking I looked at my dad and said “Daddy I love you so much and can’t tell you how much you mean to me. And how happy I am that you’re getting me another horse!” he just looked over and smiled.

We pulled into the long driveway to the stable I rode at and I couldn’t sit still, I saw all the horses in there usually pens along the driveway and when we got closer to the barn I saw Sugar and her newborn foal! He was adorable, with his dappled gray coat and his bright blue eyes, I couldn’t wait for him to grow up he would be beautiful! After looking at them my dad pulled up closer and we parked, he turned to me and said “walk into the barn and you will know what horse is yours.”. I did as I was told, but instead of walking I ran into the barn. My trainer was standing there with this tall white gelding. He was a Dutch warm blood from what I could tell. To me he looked pure bred and I’m sure he was because as a serious competitor you only have pure bred horses usually. Anyways standing in the door way I could see he was pure muscle no fat on him what so ever, and I could only imagine what it would feel like to fly over the jumps on his back, and how gracefully he would dance in the dressage ring. I was frozen for a few minutes just staring at him, I couldn’t believe my dad had gotten me a horse like this. I thought he would have gotten me a normal horse to start off on again nothing this special. My dad walked in and interrupted my day dream and asked if I was going to go see my horse. I looked up at him with a huge smile and wrapped my arms around him and gave him a tight hug! I would never be able to tell him how thankful I was that he did this for me. He whispered in my ear to go see him, then he let go and I walked over there slow trying to hold my excitement in. Once I got right up to him he greeted me with a nuzzle to my arm and I ran my hand down his neck. The feeling of all the muscle just in his neck was amazing, I then felt his legs and they were rock hard. Lisa held the dark leather lead rope out for me to grab and I took it, I looked at his head and on the halter was his name in graved into the gold plate on the cheek strap. It had “Flying Phoenix” on it. Lisa started to talk about how nice of a horse I had now and not many girls my age had one like this, she also said I should go see everything else my dad had gotten me in the tack room. Confused at first because I already had a jumping saddle and all my own tack, so I lead Phoenix into the hall with all the stalls and the tack room. I hooked him up to a cross tie and walked into the tack room. Right away I started to tear up! My dad had gotten me a brand new show saddle for jumping and dressage, a new bridle for each event and everything else I needed for my horse. Everything was new!! But there was a huge rectangular thing wrapped in bright blue and green wrapping paper, the only thing that I could think of was my own show chest! So I darted over to it and started to rip all the wrapping paper off, once it was all off I saw this big black leather chest with my name engraved on the top with “Olympic Dreams” engraved on it. I turned around to see my dad and the only thing he had to say was “You will make it there one day! And I will be there to cheer you on every step of the way!” The tears were running down his eyes me and Lisa could both see it. I could feel my mom there with us to and I walked over to give my dad a hug and I told him mom will be there with us to. We hugged each other for a few minutes before he told me to saddle up and go out to the outdoor arena and I would have my first lesson on Phoenix. Before walking away I told him how much I loved him and thank you.


----------



## hopie22 (Jan 28, 2013)

It had been a few weeks since my birthday, Phoenix and I had come so far in this short amount of time. Granted we still had a ton to improve on but I couldn’t be happier. Everyday daddy brought me out there in the morning and in the afternoon after I was done with my studies! Every time I was out there I learned something new about him and I’m sure he learned about me to. 
Today was going to be different, I had a feeling when I got out of the truck that I might have a fall today I wasn’t sure. Looking around I could tell the horses had more energy and were a little frisky! It had stormed all day so I’m sure when they were put back out they just wanted to run and play. So figuring since we had worked in the indoor arena this morning on ground work it would be nice to go on a nice trail ride. 
After playing in the pasture for a little bit with him we walked in the barn and got him all clean and saddled up. Once out of the barn I came to a stop and looked at the trails not sure what one I wanted to go down, after staring for a few minutes I thought why we don’t just go down by the lake. Of course I just turned him loose I gave him his head and we ran, faster than I have ever went before. All I did was hold on he did the rest, looking around the birds flying from tree to tree, every now and then little drops of water from the trees would fall and hit me. A few minutes must have gone by and he came to a sudden halt and slid a few feet, we had had come to the waters edge. It was really peaceful and sitting there on Phoenixes back was so comforting. 
Then out of now where I heard something running through the woods and it came right for us. It was just a deer but it scared Phoenix to death and we went flying to the side. He hopped, and since I wasn’t ready for it I went flying to the ground. He reared up and took off down the trail back to the barn.
Of course I had to walk all the way back to the barn, when I got back I noticed that the whole barn staff was freaking out, they were running around like crazy looking for me. Lisa saw me then ran over instantly patting me all down to make sure I was okay, then she wanted to know what happened only after she let everyone know I was okay. After the story was told we went to the barn so I could take care of Phoenix, he was fine not cuts or swollen legs. As long as he was fine that was all that mattered. 
So that was one lesson out of the many that Phoniex had taught me was to always pay attention to what was going on around me. He also taught me it’s not always about winning even though that was my goal at the end of the day, as long as we did our best that was all that really mattered! I had him for four years before it was time for me to advance to a bigger better horse. But I still had a hard time letting the big boy go, but I knew he needed to go to another little girl that would enjoy him just as much as I did. He would do the same for her as he did for me. So after being on the internet for a month or so we finally had a buyer. She was a little girl 9 years old, the perfect age to start out on a event horse like him. 
It was a Saturday when they came to the barn with a truck and trailer to pick my baby boy up. The few days before I had sent countless hours just talking to him and making him look as pretty as possible. But I knew the time would come sooner than later when I would have to say goodbye. But I had to tell the little girl everything I knew about him before she could leave. 
I walked up and greeted them as they got out, and I shook all of their hands. My dad was talking to her parents about the money and what not while I led the girl into the barn. The look on her face was the same that I had when I first saw this beautiful horse. She looked up and asked if he was the one she was taking home today, I smiled at her just before she walked over to him. The same halter was on him when I got him and she asked me if Flying described him, with a one word answer and I smile I said he fly’s like nothing it’s his passion is to fly over whatever you ask him. I then walked to them and told her our story and how I hoped she would love and enjoy him as much as I did. Then I handed her the leather lead and we walked out to where our parents had been the whole time talking. And that was the last time I saw that horse as he walked into the trailer! My dad hugged me as they drove away and the little girl waved good bye to me. After we could no longer see them we started walking to the truck and on the way back he said tomorrow we would start the search for my next 3 horses for 3 day even ting. One for each class Show jumping, Cross Country, and Dressage.


----------



## hopie22 (Jan 28, 2013)

thoughts?


----------



## hopie22 (Jan 28, 2013)

I really want to continue this one but I want some thoughts.


----------



## hopie22 (Jan 28, 2013)

A few months went by and I had been working he is one of the event horses at the barn. He was a stallion and we called him Satisfaction aka Hundred Percent Satisfaction. Lisa has raised him from a foal and I started riding him as soon as he was broke. I had a connection with the horse which had been real obvious to everyone at the barn, I spent time with him every day even if it was just brushing him or even just sitting there with him. Daddy would have bought him for me if Lisa would have ever offered to sell. I don’t blame her though because he brought in lots of money on with his breeding fees, but maybe, just maybe one day she would sell him and I would be the first to make a offer. 

It was a Saturday and after a long week of working hard my dad and I were headed to the barn to have a lesson. The drive there took forever; it also gave me time to think about all the horses we would be going to look at in the next week. I was going to use Satisfaction for cross country no matter what until I found my own. Lisa never cared as long as I was putting time into him, but when we got there Sati was not out in his normal pen, so I got a little worried. As soon as the car was almost to a stop I hopped out and rushed into the barn, there he was standing there with a giant bow wrapped around his neck, he was mine all mine.

It had been a few weeks since I walked into the barn and saw the stallion standing there waiting for me to come claim his as mine. Daddy bought him for my cross country horse and now we were on the hunt for two more horses to complete my eventing team. But in the mean time I was training daily with Sati and Lisa. We usually worked on one of the cross country courses she had on her property, if not that we were in the arena doing little things that would help us out on the course. Of course we had a day off here and there, and those were the days dad and I went looking for other horses. 

It was the first Saturday in May when we went to a competition in Lexington which is only a few hours from our house. We loaded up that morning with the intentions of just going there to compete in cross country and that was it, but that was not the case we would later find out. Once we got to the grounds I unloaded Satisfaction, tied him up and started preparing him. Once he was all handsome and ready too go I went into the trailer and got myself ready. When I was done I headed out to my big boy and got on, of course he was acting perfect like usual, he never gave me any troubles, he just listened to everything I asked him to do and that was it not challenging. Lisa gave me our little pep talk before she sent me off to go watch the show jumpers finish up, while I was watching I saw this big bay throwing a fit for his rider. I knew the girl who was riding him her name was Alex, and she always did a great job but this time she could not get him to listen. Assuming it was a new horse I thought I would stay and watch before I started warmups. I was shocked to see how much trouble she was having, and wondering why he was giving her so much trouble. Finally after a few minutes of rearing up and throwing a fit they started over the jumps, and boy could he fly even though she was struggling to control him he just kept on doing what he new best. Of course they looked really sloppy out there but he knew what he was doing, I stared and decided I would go over and look at him later on with Lisa maybe they would sell him since she obviously wasn't placing with him.

Sati and I headed over to the starting line it was our turn to take the course on. Sati drew eyes as we walked by, he was gorgeous with his chestnut coat and long legs. He was my pride and joy and I loved showing off with him. Anyways once we got to the start the we stood there for a minute and talked to him before we took off in a gallop for the first or the eighteen jumps.

By the time we reached the tenth jump we were doing okay, I had made a few mistakes here and there that caused us to lose some time but I was hoping to make up for it on the last stretch to the finish line. Sati seemed to be off today he was finishing his jumps off like he usually did, it was almost sloppy and for some reason I could not figure it out, I kept going not seeing any signs of pain or any injury. We flew over the last jump and pushed hard for the finish line, I urged him to make bigger and faster strides and that is exactly what he did. Once across they announced that we had came in first! A big smile broke across my face as I leaned down on his neck to praise him, and then my dad and Lisa came rushing over to congratulate us. I was extremely please with the results considering it was not the best run we have ever had. I hopped down and walked to the arena where they gave us our prizes, I got a new stable sheet, a trophy and a nice check. Once we got done with pictures I led Satisfaction over to the trailer and told Lisa about the big bay gelding I saw and asked if she would come with me to look at him. She was hesitant because she saw how he had been throwing a fit earlier, but she came over anyways.

I led the way to Alex's trailer and called her name out when we got closer, she greeted me with a big hug. I was talking for awhile before I decided to ask about the gelding. "So Alex what's the story on your bay?" I said with a lot of curiosity in my voice, while Lisa looked at him from afar. Alex looked at me with a embarrassed expression "well Maddy he is a six year old we had imported from Germany, and he is a great horse and honestly can fly over anything you ask him to. Problem is, is that him and I just don't connect and I can't get him to work with me, so he is for sale to the right rider if they can control him" she finishes with a smile. I looked over at Lisa and back at Alex, "could I try him out since the arena is right there?" I ask without even considering Lisa's opinion, after all it is my decision. Alex's looks over at him and back at me, "go ahead give him a try" she says kinda mad as if she is jealous. I walk over to where her groom his holding him and take the reins. Right away I can see he has an lot of attitude and energy but it is obvious he can fly, after all he is a German import. Lisa walks over and my dad trailing behind. I get a boost up from the groom before securing my helmet on my head, I gather the reins and give him a little squeeze and we are headed towards the arena, his energy is unbelievable, a few feet from the arena gate he starts to prance and I gather the reins a little tighter and ask for a walk, it takes him a minute but he settles to a walk again. Once I lead him into the arena filled with fluffy soft sand, Lisa shuts the gate then stands back to watch.

I ask for a trot and he hops right into it, with a lot of interest. We get half way around the arena before I urge him into a slow canter and head for the first jump. I can feel his excitement, and see how much he loves to jump. I start counting my strides into the first jump then we are off, he picks his front feet off the ground like it is nothing he makes it seem easy like he isn't trying at all. Then I feel his back legs come up and we are flying, like honestly flying. He had no troubles getting over that fence. Topping everything off his landing, was extremely soft. His front hooves hit first moving the sand from under his feet, following with his back. Once finished I was headed for the second jump barely able to contain my smile, I got a quick glance at Lisa and she has the same expression. I knew I was going to be bringing him home today.


----------



## hopie22 (Jan 28, 2013)

Once I got done with all the jumps I just rode him around the arena jus to get a feel for him, every now and then he would throw his head hop a little but I worked it out of him. I only spent twenty minutes riding this bay and never even figured out his name, but I did figure out that he had a lot of potential if I put the time into him. I was satisfied with him so I trotted over to Alex, Lisa, and my dad with a smile. Lisa looked up at me "so do you think he is the one? Obviously you will need to do some work with him but he is still young and has a great start". I didn't even say anything I just smiled and she knew He was coming home with us. "So Alex what is his name, and how much does my dad need to write the check for?" With a few minutes of hesitation and a horribly jealous look on her face she said "this Million Dollar Ace aka Ace, and if you really want him $80,000" she looked over at my dad then back at me " That isn't even close to what he is worth but he obviously will get along with Mads so he is all yours if you can pay the price". Daddy took out the check book wrote the check out and handed it over to her, "well I wish you the best of luck with him Mads" Alex says before she walked away. I hopped down and gave my dad a huge hug and thanked him. Then we all headed over to the trailer and took care of Sati and Ace before loading them up and heading home. 

We pulled into the barn around five and got the boys inside. I gave Satisfaction his grain and brushed him out before putting his BOT blanket on and his hock boots. Then gave him his treat and gave him a hug then shut the stall door and headed for the cross ties where Ace was waiting patiently for me to come take care of him, I guess patient was not the word, but for him it was. He made me laugh he stood there trying to bite the ties, and suddenly stopped when he realized I was right there watching. This feeling I had was great, I had so much hope for Ace and knew he would be great in time. He was a built Dutch Warmblood gelding, I was told he was gelded because as a stud he was way to high strung, but he still is. Being imported from Germany I knew he had great bloodlines but I was not aware at first how great they actually were. I got him all brushed out and got my stable sheet and threw it on him before putting him in his new stall and giving him a little bit of grain. One last hug before I shut the door and headed out to the truck to go home, excited to come back tomorrow and work Ace.


The next morning we were jumping before the the morning fog lifted, the ground was still a little damp from all the dew but it wouldn't bother us. Walking into the arena the sand wasn't fluffy, it was slightly damp and sticky. Every step Ace took behind me left an indent in the sand, every breath he took you saw his breath float out of his nose and carry up into the air. I placed my helmet on my head and brought the straps down under my chin and buckled it on before walking over to the mounting block and climbing amount my new friend. This was the beginning of a friendship that I would never be able to explain in words. I slipped my gloves on pulling the Velcro strap tighter before grabbing, the black leather reins and gathering them up, then squeezing with my heels to go forward. He must have been half asleep because he launched forward, but quickly brought himself to his senses and calmed down to a walk. Once we picked up a trot he tossed his head a little bit snorting every now and then, but I got him under control tucking his head up very nicely and broke into a gallop real nicely. One more circle before heading towards the first jump, I figured take them slow today since we couldn't see all the jumps with the fog being so thick. We began approaching the first jump, that's when he thought throwing a little buck in would be nice so he knocked the top rail. I gathered the reins tighter and continued for the next jump, slowing his approach a little more he took off and landed without a problem. It was crazy how soft he landed each and every time if he took off right the landing was extremely soft. He always picked up the right lead and continued on with the course never missing a beat, this horse was a natural at this. After we were done with our ride the fog had started to rise, and you could hear the birds coming out. Looking down there wasn't just our trail of indents anymore they had covered the entire arena, some deeper then others. I stayed on and walked over towards the gate without getting off I leaned to the side and unhooked the latch and walked out into the gravel driveway. With each step came a short quick breath you could tell Ace was tired. I rode him all the way to the barn door before sliding off, I slipped the reins over his neck and led him to the cross ties. I slid saddle off his back along with his saddle pad carrying it all to the tack room and onto the saddle rack I hung his bridle on his hook. When I walked back out there he had fallen asleep and was startled by the brush I had ran over his back. Unhooking the ties I lead him outside to his paddock for the day. Once I let go of his halter he ran to the end of the pen and back again by the time I shut the gait. He seemed to be content so I headed back to take care of Sati. That's when I started to think about how he seemed off yesterday and maybe we should have a vet evaluate him for any possible injuries.

I slipped Sati's halter on and led him out to take a better look at him, nothing really looked wrong he seemed a little stiff but nothing that was to concerning. I went around and looked at all four of his feet and they were fine, and Lisa had recommended that I take him out and lope him half a mile or so the night before so I figured we could give it a try.I brushed him out good before putting my saddle on, I decided to put polo wraps on today since my dad had just bought me some new ones. Once he was all ready I grabbed my helmet, then headed out to the driveway before I got on. Sati had a little more pep in his step compared to last night so we started out with trotting down the first trail before we got to the stretch we would canter down. I couldn't feel anything wrong so I asked him into a canter and he eased into it just as he always has. He hadn't given me any signs of pain so we just kept going like normal and all went well, once we got back he was sweaty but that was to be expected. I got him into the barn and that is when he started to show pain. I tied him up and took everything off first before getting Lisa to check it out, she ran her hand down his back left leg which was the one he was favoring and would not put the pressure on what so ever. She decided we should call the vet, so while she went to her office to make the call I put him back in his stall to rest.


----------



## hopie22 (Jan 28, 2013)

After taking a few x-rays of his leg they finally came to a conclusion, his hock was inflamed and that what was causing the pain, we put him back in his stall then went at sat down with the vet to talk about the treatment plan we would go about. As soon as we sat down he looked at me with an expression that worried me, he started off by saying he would need stall rest and control turnout during the day for at least a month, after a few weeks of that we could start hand walking him for the following two weeks. He paused for a few minutes before continuing with saying after a month we would have him come out again to okay light riding, but if it didn't get better injections would be the next option. All in all Sati would be done with cross country for awhile and I would need to find another horse to ride in the mean time, but I would do my best to help the recovery go as smooth as possible.

It had been a week since I got Ace, and since Sati had to start stall rest. Since he was on stall rest, Lisa and I had focused on Ace more and started fixing some of his problems. Instead of working on the big jumps we just did small jumps so I could focus on his movement and timing instead of clearing the jump. As the days went by you could tell Ace was bored with the slow work we had been doing, but it truly was helping him out a ton. He was starting to relax while in the ring instead of hopping all around and throwing his head. His movements were nice and whole now instead of quick and choppy, I thought today would be a good day to take a break from the training and take him out down the trails. Little did I know it would be the biggest challenge I would face with him. Once we started down the gravel trail he was doing a steady prance for the first fifteen minutes or so, but after that he started having a nervous breakdown and soon we would come across a bridge that would cause him to freak out.


----------

