10/05/2026
A lot of people have been asking if I am still eventing (since no one has seen me out there on the xc competition course recently), and I feel like this deserves a real response.
Not being out there is killing me actually. There is this internal pull to every event that makes me feel like I need to be there and that anywhere else I am or whatever I am doing is just sort of….not really where I want to be. (I’m sure all of you who event totally get that feeling).
But; my most favorite horse and event partner Luna was diagnosed with a bone cyst in her radius just as we were getting ready to make the move up to her first 3*. This cyst ended up taking 3 surgeries, a lot of down time to get through (including one botched surgery), tens of thousands of dollars, and at the end of all of this the vets said she would be lucky to be pasture sound.
So; really heartbroken, I retired her.
I didn’t buy another event horse right away because I needed a break from the expenses and emotional ups and downs for a little while. I started focusing on dressage and show jumping (because those are the horses I had) and coaching/training for my clients a lot more.
But then I watched over the next year as Luna lived it up in her “retirement” racing around the field at top speed and doing the most lovely extended trots, and I decided to really slowly put her back into work and to see what happened.
There were a lot of ups and downs, but now she is back to being completely sound show jumping at 1.20. A few months ago I took her out xc schooling and she was as amazing and keen as ever, and I got really excited and had my vet radiograph and ultrasound her again to see if the cyst had healed at all. The cyst is still there, looking the same as ever, but with a screw through it supporting the bone integrity.
The decree is that she will not stay sound if I gallop her on uneven footing, deep footing, or hills. So going back out the to xc course is unfortunately out for us.
This moment comes up for all of us who event for a long period of time. Our partner isn’t going to be able at some point to keep up with our goals, and we have to decide whether to move on to another horse or to pivot with our horse’s abilities.
As a professional this is an especially hard place to be. Do we choose the relationship with the partner we have or move on to another partner to follow the dream, goal, and professional development?
The choice is even harder when the horse you have is one who really has your back on the xc course, who you have really bonded with, and who is so quirky you don’t see them doing well in another situation. And when money is a limiting factor.
For now, I am choosing my horse.
I am being grateful every day that I ride her that we still get to jump around a course together. I am still having a fabulous time with her, with all of her quirks, spookiness, and funny jumping style. And I am still learning a ton.
I am not done eventing (I am still always out there schooling other people’s horses) and when I get my hands on another upper level event horse I will start competing again.
