Dressage, Cross Country and Jumping, Oh My!

There once was a girl named Sydney

Whose sister was the size of a pygmy.

But Sydney was tall

And liked to jump over walls.

But only while riding a horse,

Of course.

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There once was a horse named Tamata

Whose shape would make a fine pinata.

A racehorse no more

Tamata’s life was a bore.

Until he met Sydney’s strong force,

Of course.

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Their friendship began

With the wave of a hand.

One look in the eye

Turned Tamata quite shy.

So he became Sydney’s first horse,

Of course.

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There once was a horse named Borsalino

Who arrived with the force of el Nino.

Taming Borsalino was tough

Riders left in a huff.

Though Borsalino felt no remorse,

Of course.

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When Sydney stepped in

Borsalino knew he couldn’t win.

She saw he was scared

‘Twas an emotion they shared.

Then he became Sydney’s next horse,

Of course.

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Dressage, Cross Country and Jumping, Oh my!

The trio decided to give Eventing a try.

Dressage is like dancing

But looks more like prancing.

Cross Country is so far and fast

It's amazing the horses can last.

And Jumping is hard for an ex-racehorse,

Of course.

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Syd started with groundwork to earn their respect

But also found out it’s a great way to connect.

Using their front and back legs separately

Was a huge challenge for both horses’ agility.

Next up was learning to move sideways

An exercise which sent them all into a daze.

Stepping forward and backing up

Almost saw the trio break-up.

But getting them used to weird, scary objects

Was, by far, Sydney’s favorite part of the project.

And the hardest thing of all for any ex-racehorse?

Why, standing still, of course.

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Together they worked hard and conquered the basics.

After all, if anything, Sydney is quite tenacious.

She took a spill here and fell off over there.

Some thought she should be done with the whole affair.

But Syd knew, deep down, that her boys had talent.

Because through the whole process they had both been quite valiant.

So, to those who wanted Sydney to quit this midcourse,

Her answer was, “Absolutely not!” Of course.

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Next came the lessons for dressage and show jumping

Which saw Tamata dancing and Borsalino grumping.

Tamata learned quickly, very eager to please

While Borsalino left Sydney feeling unease.

The first show approaching, which horse to endorse?

In the end, Syd chose Tamata, of course.

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The first event of the day, Dressage,

Was quietly viewed by Sydney’s entourage.

Tamata's performance was calm, cool and collected

In fact, he hardly seemed affected.

Sydney was so proud of her retired racehorse

That performance itself was a victory, of course.

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The next event that day was Stadium Jumping

Which, unfortunately, sent Sydney bumping.

She leaned too far forward before the next cross rail

And all of a sudden Sydney started to sail.

And what’s the first lesson learned after being de-horsed?

She got back up on her horse, of course!

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Not wanting to leave and seeming to fail,

Sydney and Tamata re-jumped that cross rail.

Syd knew they could do it and wanted Tamata to know

That he could do anything so his confidence would grow.

Their first show over, what did Sydney want to reinforce?

Why, that she and Tamata were winners, of course.

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And what does the future hold for this trio,

Sydney, Tamata and Boselino?

Eventing for sure, there’s much more to show.

As each horse, and their rider, continue to grow.

We haven’t seen the last of this girl and her horse,

Because Syd won’t give up ‘til they’re all winners, of course!

Pictures