After eleven days in Kentucky for the 2011 FEI North American Junior & Young Rider Championships, I’m finally home! I had such an amazing time and I can’t wait to share my experience with you. This was my third time at the NAJYRC, but the fun and excitement just grows each year! My NAJYRC experience started on Tuesday, July 19th when my horse was picked up at midnight for the long haul to Kentucky. I had one day to pack and then I got on a plan with my mom on Thursday morning and headed to Lexington. I never get used to the beautiful green landscape there, especially coming from Arizona! My horse Chance arrived later Thursday evening and we started to get him settled in. The rest of the weekend was spent unpacking and acclimating the horses to the hot and humid weather as the rest of the Region 5 team arrived. By Sunday, the whole team was there and we were already having a great time!

*From Left to Right: Taylor Lindsten on Raoul, Madeleine Birch on Uoeri, Me on Chance*
     On Monday my trainer Ashleigh Luca Tyson flew in and we had our first real training session. Chance felt good, a little strong, but I was happy with our ride. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the Kentucky Horse Park and decorating the team golf cart. On Tuesday the Region 5 Young Rider team got to ride in the Rolex Stadium for the first time! I love that arena; it is so breathtaking and extremely cool to know that horses such as Totilas and Ravel showed there during the 2010 World Equestrian Games! Chance and I had another great ride and I was ready for the team competition the next morning!

*From left to right: Me, Aylin Corapcioglu, Madeleine Birch, and Brandi Roenick*
     Wednesday was a great day; Region 5 won Young Rider Team Gold! It was so great to be on a team with my amazing friends Brandi Roenick, Madeleine Birch, and Aylin Corapcioglu. They all did a fantastic job and we snatched the gold with only about a point to spare between us and the silver medal team. It was definitely a tight race! I was so proud to be on a team with these great riders and I hope we all make it back next year!

*From Left to Right: Me, Aylin, Brandi, and Madeleine*
     My individual ride didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped. This is our first year out at the Prix St. George and our inexperience came into play today. Chance is only 9 and he’s going through an adjustment period right now trying to get used to the added pressure and trying to understand what is being asked of him. We really just didn’t have the preparation we needed with my elbow injury (I got kicked by a horse and shattered my right elbow at the end of May and am still recovering) and, as much as I hate to admit it, my strength and ability really aren’t back to normal yet and I still have a long road of recovery ahead of me. I’m so glad I came, though, the stubborn red head in me wouldn’t let myself stay home and I’m glad! I have learned so much and I can’t wait to go home, do lots of work, and come back out for another great season! This just wasn’t my summer this year, but I know it will get better and this will just make me a stronger person.

*From left to right: Aylin on Ruhman, me on Chance, Brandi on Pretty Lady, and Madeleine on Uoeri*
     It was a couple days too late, but on Friday, the day after the Individual test in Kentucky, I had the best lesson in my life on Chance! I went back and watched the videos of my rides to see if I could pinpoint what I could do better to help Chance perform to the best of his abilities. I know Chance is a super talented horse, now I just need to figure out the best way to showcase it. I learned many things, including Chance and I are still very inexperienced at this level and it would do us some good to show this fall so we can learn how to keep our mindset and composure in the arena so we can perform just as well as we do at home. Chance is still so young at 9 years old and he really counts on me to be there every step of the way to guide him through the tests, but unfortunately my young age and inexperience does not always allow me to ride him as well as I could in the show ring. So, I think it will benefit us both to get some more miles in the show ring so we can really show our full potential. Next, I realized that Chance does have a bit of an attitude sometimes and he gets really angry if I surprise him with my aids or a movement without sufficient preparation or consistent reminders of his frame and way of going during our ride. That means it is my job as his rider to always let him know what is coming next and to keep him together the whole time so I do not have to scramble to get him ready for, say, a pirouette. Chance really needs me to ride him EVERY SINGLE STRIDE and a light bulb went off for me on Friday so that I was finally able to do that for the first time in my life. This new way of riding really helped the quality of his canter and he was truly more honest and willing than ever before. So even though the our individual test did not go quite as I had hoped, I feel I really got more out of it because it forced me to step back, look at the whole picture, and change my riding for the better. Chance is not an easy horse, but I know he will shape me into a better rider because of it. Plus, it will really help when my arm is stronger and it is recovered 100%. I was trying to convince myself that I could go back to riding and everything would be as easy as it was before the accident, but unfortunately that was not the case and my lack of preparation and strength hurt us in this competition. Luckily it is getting better and stronger every single day so it will definitely be easier when I do not have to worry about that weakness. I am so excited to work extremely hard and prepare for another great season at Young Riders!!!

     All in all it was one of the best times of my life, and I want to say thank you to many of the wonderful people who made it happen. These include my parents Glen and Annie Chamberlain, my trainer Ashleigh Luca Tyson, supporters Barbara McLean, Jennifer Ayers, Karen Patterson, Harris Patterson, Dicksie Patterson, the Arizona Dressage Association, everyone who made a donation to the Region 5 teams, the sponsors of the NAJYRC which include Platinum Performance, Ariat, Adequan, and Gotham North, and all of the outstanding organizers, officials, and volunteers at this magnificent event. There are so many more people who need thanking, but the list is just too long, so THANK YOU to everyone who made this a possibility for me and all of the other deserving and talented riders!

~ Catherine Chamberlain ~