Day 9. Final phase and post!

Daddy and I after Merry passed the jog ^_^

The arena and our course. The first time in the rolex ring, but certainly not going to be our last!!!!

Merry and I watching our final competitors complete their  show jumping

So happy, so proud.

Merry was very proud after his double clear stadium 

8th place finish, second placed canadian, and award for fittest horse!

no words to describe how happy i am with our 8th place finish! 

LONGGGGG car ride home

WE MADE IT HOME!!! at 7:00 am monday after leaving Kentucky at 3:00 pm sunday

Home and unpacking... the fun part!

Best groom awards go to Camille and Celeste

Just before the jog up

The end of my course walk

Th 

Course walk for the Final phase

5:30 am sunday morning ride before the jog up at 7:30

I AM ABSOLUTELY OVER THE MOON AT OUR FINAL RESULT AT NAJYRC!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry and I finished on our dressage score, which was a 57.4! Double clear in xc, and double clear in stadium i am in utter shock and disbelief i am so happy. 

Going into this competition my goal was for top ten, but after an average dressage score, and being 21st i didn't think that would every happen. Merry and I stayed resolved and successfully had our best xc ever, moving into 13th place, and then yesterday we were completely in sync for our stadium and despite us both being a bit stiff and tired from the day before we pulled out a spectacular clear round moving us in to finish at 8th place!!!!!!!! 

we were the 2nd ranked Canadian (april young came 3rd)!! and something i am almost even more proud of is that Merry won the award for fittest horse! Every single vet on the property voted for him when deciding who the award went to!! Considering Merry's more chunky Irish Sport Horse build compared to all the off the track thoroughbred's that were here i consider this a true demonstration of all the hard work that Lorraine, Momo, Myself, and Merry did to get fit. All those 3 am gallop sets in the Gatineau hills were worth it! 

When i finished that stadium round, and crossed through the finish flags, i don't think i have ever been more happy... i took him for a victory gallop around a few fences and had every single canadian on the property screaming and shouting for me waving a Canadian flag! It was a moment i know i will remember forever, i couldn't help but start crying.

Being in the giant rolex stadium, with my name on the big screen saying double clear, has only hardened my resolve to make sure i return to that stadium, and this time were going for the podium. 

I have to say i owe a world of debt to Lorraine Laframboise, Camille Bonneau, Celeste Fortier, Haley Laframboise, Momo Laframboise, Jessica Phoenix, Rebecca David, and my dad Peter Becke for making this the most memorable week of my life i have had so far. Each and every one of you are what made this so special and fun for me, thank you thank you THANK YOU. 

As all of you know the one who is there every single time i ride, whatever ungodly hour it is, no matter how hot, cold, or buggy is my Mom. Her unwavering support, and competitive drive have helped me to push and strive for better every time. I am certain that without her i would not be the person I am today, and i Love who i am. While she couldn't be there this weekend for the grand finale, she never missed a single step before that. and as she said before i left "this competition is just the icing on the cake, everything before that is what gives it substance and meaning. whatever happens, happens just live in the moment and have fun" (we all secretly know she meant be as competitive as possible but yah know)

As we crossed the finish line

We got home at the ungodly hour of 7:00 am this morning after leaving kentucky at 3:00 pm sunday afternoon and driving 17 hours straight through the night. needless to say i'm heading to bed now, but its not the time for rest. I leave bright and early tomorrow morning for International Bromont where Grace and I will be attempting our very first 1.30m Jumper class on friday! 

1.15m on wednesday, 1.25m on thursday, and 1.30 on friday! the 1.30m classic on sunday! 

keep those fingers crossed everybody!

THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR READING AND SUPPORTING ME FROM FAR AND WIDE! i had over 1500 views on my blog and that is just incredible. 

ALL MY LOVE, and merry sends a big kiss with those adorable moose lips. 

DAY 8 WHAT AN AMAZING CROSS COUNTRY DAY BEST EVER

Consulting with the tack check before cross

The three girls after a successful day!

In front of the rolex clock at the competitors party 

What a stunner eh? this is my favourite photo ever

Through the last coffin combination, tipping to far forward with my body. 

Nap time for everyone while icing at the end of the day

Morning scenery of the course for these 3 photos 

Coming off cross even in the extreme heat merry recovered well with lots of spirit still kickin

Look at all the attention that well deserving man is getting

dumping the head in an ice bucket at the end of the course! it was too hot for life today!!

So happy, so proud 

tired lookin boy

WHAT AN AMAZING DAY!!!! I really cant write to much because it is very late and i have a super early start tomorrow but today was absolutely incredible. 

Best cross country we have ever ridden, and even though it was the longest Merry felt incredible the whole way through, we even came in early at 7:34 and his temperature was only 101.3! he is now in the running to win the prize for fittest horse actually because of his great feats! 

This is why we do this sport, at the end of the day its not about the dressage or stadium its about the cross. Its why we love it so much, us adrenaline junkies and i am so so so happy that we went double clear. 

I moved up to 13th, less than 10 points from 1st place, and only 4 points from 7th place. 

Merry looks and feels amazing this evening, so fingers crossed for the jog and stadium tomorrow, but at this point i couldnt be more proud of him. Hes earned every carrot and apple he received today and trust me there was a lot. 

It was a hard course and we made it!!!

DONT FORGET TO CROSS YOUR FINGERS FOR US TOMORROW MORNING!!!!

DAY 7 REST DAY BEFORE XC!!!

nooooooo big deal..... rolex jump... officially never going 4*

Haley Laframboise finishing the most beautiful CCI** test in the big rolex ring!

WIDE BRUSH on my course, fence #7, note Camille directly behind the jump and barely visible...

Two star jump, corn on the cob anybody?

Merry lovesss his thumper (massage machine), big shout out to Emily Marshall for letting me borrow it. 

Nice big wide table on my course

OFFICIALLY WALKED 12km (my course is 4040 metres long) in boiling heat today, feeling pretty darn good about my fitness and weight levels at this point. with all the water weight in my body gone i look fantastic. only problem is i'm dying of dehydration. Nahh i'm trying my hardest to stay hydrated and fueled but in this heat its proving very difficult for both myself and my horse. 

Got my beautiful custom made saddle pad from Bruno Delgrange today for cross-country, navy blue, and black with a quebec flag on it, and in the no slip eco gold material for best breathability on cross country. Merry is going out there is style tomorrow!! 

The course out there looks tough, really tough but AMAZINGGG i am so so so so sooooo excited for tomorrow to have fun and rock that course. The course is twisty, the time will be tough, and the jumps are hard. good news is next to the rolex 4* jumps my jumps cant look as scary! yay! 

Camille's final words at the end of the course were "i'll pray for you..." hehehe im so happy to have such confidence boosting friends! 

My girls have been absolutely amazing this whole week, but today especially getting everything organized for tomorrow, and taking care of the Merrster so well i couldn't have asked for better friends and helpers. 

Had a great press conference and interview, i will share the link with you all tomorrow when its posted.  QU-AL-ON had a wonderful chance to discuss our lost opportunity at a team, and despite not being an official team, we help eachother and work together as if we were and honestly i think thats the most important part. 

Canada as a whole is doing super here at NAYRC, Quebec won the team dressage, won the reining championships and came second in the reining championships, and i believe (could be wrong) won the endurance today as well. 

THE COURSE IS LONG... optimum time is 7:47 longest course ive ever done, with the distance of 4040 metres, averaging at a speed of 520 metres per minute. We have a great team canada cool down station all set up at the end of the course! With such high temperatures a course this long can be extremely dangerous for both horse and rider so its EXTREMELY important to cool them down ASAP. 

Cross country, im ready for you. here we come. 

Tyne Be Merry is on the loose and ready to go!

DAY 7 DRESSAGE DAY

Worlds best groom Camille Bonneau

Pre - Dressage beauty shot

BEAUTIFUL sunset from last night

i would just like everyone to admire Merry's lovely facial expression here, its a winner

proud of him after a good dressage on a hot day

Jog up from yesterday!

Group photo for Dasha ( in the sombrero) birthday

Hey everyone, a short post tonight because it is so late and i am just exhausted. 

Had a pretty great day out there today, i am currently sitting 10 points behind the winner after dressage, which considering how hard the cross country looks out there is not a lot. Everyone is packed tight together so at this point anything could happen. Only show jumping, cross country, and time will tell!! It ain't over till its over as they say. 

I was happy with my dressage test, Merry was quite a good boy, except despite the layers of bug spray he still was slightly unsettled in the free walk with his head convinced the bugs were going to kill him. I got into the ring and just smiled because i couldn't believe we had actually made it and i am so proud of how flowing and smooth our test was. 

I continue to be disappointed with everyone who made it impossible for Moira Laframboise of Ontario, Rebecca of Alberta, and Myself to be on a team for Canada. Those who made this an impossibility should be ashamed of themselves. As a team we would be sitting in third, just one point shy of second place after dressage. How very disgusting that Canada couldn't get it together to give us a chance at a team gold medal that Canada hasn't won in over 30 years!! 

Day off tomorrow to walk the cross country, reboot the engines, and prepare for the serious stuff on Saturday of the cross country. 

Goodnight fellow Canadians! 

Day 6 Jog up and Dressage School.... BLOODY HOT.

Morning ride on the moose man!

Morning ride was absolutely super ^_^

Right before the jog :)

Afternoon rinse off

JUST GOT SPONSORED! 

PASSED THE JOG

so dappled :) we passed the jog

team ontario's amazing golf cart!!! 

I HAVE GREAT NEWS.... i am pretty certain i lost 10 pounds today just from all the sweating... i think that was the hottest day i have ever known. At 5 am it was 35 degrees and it only got hotter from there. I am definitely suffering from some heat stroke with dehydration and a nice booming headache. 

Merry had an incredible dressage school this morning and afternoon going his best ever, i am actually pretty excited for the Dressage tomorrow because of that. I go around 9:50 so everyone please cross your fingers for me! i am SO MAD but due to the heat tails and top hats have been banned so i will be doing my CCI* in a show shirt or polo...  how lame and tragic is that... so upset. 

Moira Laframboise from Ontario, myself from Quebec, and Rebecca from Alberta will be the only individuals competing without a team tomorrow so we plan on doing extra well to beat out all the teams :). 

Merry looked magnificent at the jog today with the sun glaring down on his beautiful dapples, and he passed instantly with flying colours thank goodness! its a very nerve wracking experience to stand before the ground jury and know they could end your competition right then and there with a shake of their heads. 

I got a sponsorship for free belts from a new company called C4 equestrian belts! a 100% recyclable belt made to measure. A pretty neat concept, i was honoured to even be asked! The belt i have in the pictures is the belt he gave me, blue for Quebec. 

On top of everything else i had university course registration today at 1:00 pm so in between riding, jogging, course walking, and everything else i had to pick my university courses for the next year... and  oh boy, put it this way, nothing they give me on cross country could possibly compare to the stress i experienced choosing those courses... give me a xc any day please. 

Pretty excited to have friday to just sleep and reboot for the next 2 days, the heat is really taking it out of us all. 

There have been over 50 people reading this blog every day, and i just wanted to say thank you to everybody for your continued support and interest!!!! It really means a lot to me, and the team down here. I couldn't be where i am right now without the constant encouragement from all of you

DRESSAGE WE ARE READY FOR YOU