How many times have you seen an equestrian show? I’ve been to a few of them, mostly because of my parent’s job. He had to go with his boss to entertain some VIP customers every now and then, and some of the places that we got to go were racetracks, golf courses, and equestrian shows. Some of the places I went to were very nice, a lot of people who rub shoulders with important people and many upscale competitions.
The very first place I got to go to, was a racetrack. My father had gone up to the VIP section with his boss and the race would not start for another 20 minutes. There was a place where you could see the riders and the horses. I went down there, and I saw one reporter interviewing one of the riders. He was a very famous rider that was the returning champion.
He was a very humble rider that had won many competitions. He said that he had started riding at the age of 13. His father owned a ranch and got him started on riding horses. He says that he had a favorite horse that he loved riding. His name was ‘shadow’, and he rode him for about 5 years. This was the horse that he won his first competition with.
After that, I returned to take my place in the stands because the race was about to start. My father asked me if I was going to place my bet, and although I have never been much of a gambler, I decided to go ahead. I placed a very small bet of the rider I had seen being interviewed. After the race was over, I was about 35 dollars richer!
After that show, I went to some polo competitions as well. This sport had to be explained to me because I really didn’t know anything about it. After that, I became a fan. The thing about this sport is that it is only played by people in very high social circles, so that meant I pretty much didn’t know any of the famous players, but I got to know about them and even meet a couple of them.
The next story features a rider with his horse taking part in one of the most exciting competitions I have ever seen. In this competition, the horse needs to ‘dance’ to the beat of the music and the judges grade the performances based on the technical ability, grace, and coordination that horse and rider display. Even if you haven’t seen any of these competitions, this is something you don’t want to miss!
