A Junior Riders First


Experience Tackling the East


By Morgan Geller W


sand arenas, competing in a small indoor arena reveals a lot about a rider. There is little room for error with the fast tracks and tight turns. Besides that, riders from the West coast are at a disadvantage to begin with due to the cold weather, time change and long plane flights. The horses are more stressed and riders need to be mentally prepared to deal with everything from the crowded warm up arenas to the strange sleep- ing patterns. Combine this with the


hile California may have beautiful grass fields and large


need to keep up with challenging home work at school. Yet all is worth it when you get


with my horse Fabricio, and I was especially excited about the National Horse Show in Syracuse. I had prac- ticed all year and looked forward to the opportunity to compete nation- ally with the help and support of my trainers, Peter Lombardo and Katie Gardner. This year, I also had the amazing opportunity to train with Bill Cooney.


to spend those few moments in the spotlight with a blue ribbon. This trip back east was my first trip


the trip would be like from articles and watching the show, Road to the Maclay. It seemed like the peo- ple who won were perfect riders, I couldn’t believe anyone could be that good. Following Capital Challenge and


Harrisburg, with two indoor shows under my belt, I felt confident on the way to Syracuse for the National Horse Show. I was especially excited for the hunters after Fabricio had shown he can compete with the top hunters at Harrisburg. He felt more comfortable in the indoor arena


I had many expectations of what


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