Gees! What a ride!

Chasing the Wide

My dream was to win a wide.

Not just any ribbon—a big, wide purple ribbon with tassels. To me, it represented everything I wanted but believed was out of reach.

The odds weren’t exactly in my favour.

I didn’t have a horse float. I didn’t have an instructor. I didn’t have parents taking me to competitions every weekend.

I had a pony in a paddock.

The first step was getting a saddle. The next was learning to ride how you were “supposed to”. Without an instructor, that wasn’t easy—especially when the internet was still another twenty years away.

So I taught myself.

I devoured horse books. I watched every rider I could, studying how they sat, how they used their hands, how they communicated with their horses. I listened intently to every lesson, even though they weren’t mine. I soaked up every bit of knowledge I could, took from it the parts I liked and then worked incredibly hard to implement it – that would help me and my pony.

Then Jean came into my life.

As I improved, she quietly became my mentor. She would convince/demand (😬😂) her husband or son to drive us and our horses to events. She encouraged me every step of the way.

“Keep your heels down, Georgie!”

I can still hear her voice.

I don’t remember her ever saying a harsh word to me. I never got the chance to ask her why she chose to help me. What did she see in me? With very few opportunities…. What motivated her?

I’ll never know. But I think she knew…. She knew what I didn’t know, what I didn’t have and she knew I loved horses…. She saw the want…. And maybe wanted to guide me, whatever it was, she changed my life and for all of this, I will be eternally grateful.

Mangakino Sports Day….

I think I would’ve been 12 ish….

That day, my dream began to unfold.

I’m 99% sure her son was dragged along to tow the horses (and us) to the show.

We arrived and mounted up…. I was so ready and so excited! I knew I was close and everything seemed much easier…..

During the day, I was placing in my classes and suddenly we (me and Rainfall) found ourselves in the running for Reserve Champion or Champion.

I was wearing Jean’s velvet riding helmet—about a million sizes too small! It gave me a pounding headache and left a deep mark across my forehead. I wore her riding jacket, complete with a flower tucked into the breast pocket. Pretty sure Rainfall donned Jeans double bridle too…. But can’t be 💯 sure about that one, however…

We looked the part.

More importantly, Rainfall was incredible.

She never put a hoof wrong.

Back then, Arabian horses weren’t highly regarded in the equestrian world, so I knew that wasn’t doing us any favours. Doubt crept into my mind, but I pushed it aside. I rode the best I could and together Rainfall and I gave everything we had.

We were a team.

When the judge called, “The grey pony,” into the centre, I just sat there.

Surely they couldn’t mean me.

I was still waiting, convinced the Champion ribbon belonged to someone else.

But it didn’t.

We had won.

That wide purple ribbon with the tassels—the one I had dreamed about for so long—was finally mine.

It remains one of the coolest, proudest moments of my life. I was the child who had it all!!!! An amazing pony, an amazing mentor and a big wide purple ribbon!!!!

For just one unforgettable day, something that had always seemed impossible became possible. What had once felt completely out of reach was finally on my ponies neck.

From there we went on to win more wide ribbons….. she was an amazing pony, who I loved to bits!