For the last week, I have been in Sunbury, Ohio, with the equestrian team at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championships, i.e., four very long days of dusty arena and horse show. Nothing I took with me is not totally covered in dust.

I got to room with two of my best friends on the team, which made for some crazy times. I watched Cold Case Files for the first time, which gave me nightmares; managed not to do most of the homework I needed to do; was dressed up in silly (I thought) clothes by one of my coaches; and went on the most insane shopping trip to Walmart (okay, maybe the second most insane...). We had some intense discussions about the coaching problems we're facing as a team
and some really silly ones about undergarments.

I learned the first day that I would have to show against the girl who was last year's national champion in my division. No pressure. :-P Especially after only one girl from our English team placed at all (she got fifth, which means our English team placed 10th in the nation). Our Western team did better; one of our girls won the national championship in both of her divisions (we ended up ranked third in the nation for Western) and most of the others placed in the top six.

I showed on Saturday. My mom flew out to watch, which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me at the time. My coach actually brought cones with her so I could practice my pattern on foot. I'm sure I looked like a total idiot walking and jogging circles in the grass outside. Then came the Spandex, and the chaps, and the makeup, and the hair, and the bobby pins holding my hat on OW MY HEAD IS BLEEDING, and multitudinous pieces of advice, and then I was on the horse in the ring. There were 16 people total in my class, meaning it took freaking FOREVER for everyone to do their patterns. When it was finally my turn, I forgot to acknowledge the judge like you're supposed to; I thought I'd committed a major faux pas. (I learned later my coach was laughing at me for taking it so seriously :-P) Then we lined up, and they announced the placings painfully slowly.

The gist of all this? I won my class against all expectations, meaning I'm now the national champion in my division. If that's not pressure, I don't know what is. :-P

La"When I told my brother, he said, 'Wow, I thought you were going to get 11th or something.' X-P"Zorra