“A horse gallops with its lungs, perseveres with its heart, and wins with its character.”
This quote could also apply to this lovely young lady as well. It's rare you come across someone her age, 19, with such a strong understanding of who she is. Paige is someone that makes you smile when you see her. She's the kind of girl that comes over just to "hang out" because she enjoys being with family. And Paige is someone who LOVES her beautiful horse "Gary".
My girls and wife and I went to see Paige compete out in Rancho Murieta at the Murieta Equestrian Center about 25 miles east of Sacramento. Paige was calm and poised while she was getting herself and Gary ready. As usual, she has a nearly permanent smile on her face.
Not knowing this "world" at all, I was excited to see "behind the scenes" as she was preparing. Then, out to the warmup arena where, like any athlete, you and the horse warm up. And finally, out to the main arena for the competition.
In some classes, there can be as few as 1 competitor, however, in this one, there were at least 10-12 competing .
All the horses and riders are spread around the arena , and when the judge calls out a move, the riders/horses have to execute them (down to starting off a trot with the correct foot). I had NO idea what was involved.
On this day, Paige came in 2nd (lost to a non-amateur which is not supposed to compete in this class). But as expected, although disappointed, Paige took it in stride and continued to show the class and grace she always exudes.
She met us for a victory lunch afterwards in Sacramento and we got to spend more quality time with her (sans Gary).
Congratulations Paige!
