By Sara Green

So it's always good to get your year off to a great start in Florida, right?? Well, I somehow managed to fall off four times in three weeks... all in the jumper ring!

Perhaps not riding at all for three months between my last show of '08 (Syracuse) and Ocala wasn’t maybe the best idea I’ve ever had (Senioritis??)… but I won’t let that be my excuse for falling off around a turn OR right after the finishing timers OR through a huge oxer OR tossed like a frisbee onto the ground before I even GOT to a jump.

At the very least I think I was amusing the spectators because even from inside the ring I could even hear the clapping and laughter. You know that long humiliating walk to the ingate every time you fall off? Um yea, I became a pro at that!

Thank God I managed to redeem myself in the equitation & hunter rings. In the eq I won the Medal, Washington and USET a couple of times (and was psyched that my best friend Amber did too)!! In the hunter ring I got to ride different horses about every week and they were all good boys.

I showed horses for a couple of people:

One for Don Stewart (how HILARIOUS is he??) that was champion. The horse even beat Lyle (one of my favorite horses) & Abbey O’Mara, which may sound silly but I consider that to be a major accomplishment.

I also showed a young horse for Emil Spadone, who, by the way, is my new trainer if you didn’t hear. HE’S THE MAN! His horse’s name is Like Wize and just arrived from Europe and started showing this year in Ocala. He’s adorable and I wish I owned him!

Then last but definitely not the least, there’s Jenny Millerrrr. I love showing horses for her because she’s so funny. I have so many stories that I’ll get around to at some point on here. Anyway, I showed two horses for her and each week we had fun adventures. I also showed one of her super fancy junior hunters at Devon (more to come on that later!).

Ocala was also a blast outside of the horse show. My friends and I rented a house together and lived as a family for the six weeks. I lived with Claire Wilson, Andrew Coolen-Koussouris, and Michael Desiderio. Andrew and Mike both ride with Emil in the amateurs, and Claire rides with Chrissie Kear/Bobby Braswell, and she’s my age. We definitely had a blast!!

-Sara

Up Next: Tampa!
Special Thanks to Sean Rogers