It takes a Village!

We have all heard that it takes a village to get an athlete, any athlete, in any sport, into the competition arena. Well it applies even to me, an older amateur dressage rider! Here are some fun photos of my “village”.Thank you Lisa Landis for snapping these. In this first photo the caption could be “Oh No! I lost my contact lens!” But it is Coach Lou Denizard about to reach for Biasini’s boot to remove it before I go in the ring. I am reaching down to take a small bottle of water from my husband David.

Coach Lou removes Biasini’s protective boots.

Why is it these jackets have sooooo many buttons to do up?

But at the end of it all here is the result. This photo, was taken last weekend by Joanna Jodko, the official photographer at White Fences shows. Jackets were excused due to the heat. Here is my “village”; on the right in the background is my coach, Lou Denizard, in a white T-Shirt, in pink next to him Nancy Kleiner friend and my groom for the day, and Kara Riley-King friend and supporter. On the left in the photo, in the hat with my phone in front of his face, taking video of my ride, my husband David.

I could not do it without them. Thank you all!

Comments

30 responses to “It takes a Village!”

  1. David Avatar

    I’m the support team, from gopher to horse technician. The horse tech job is easy … I visually make sure nothing is loose. My daughters handle their own saddle and tack. 🙂

    About the buttons, I think it’s meant to aggravate girls only, lol.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Well David, i would challenge you to deal with the buttons on a tailcoat: the internal buttons, the points buttons and then the exterior buttons. It is a task! thanks for your comment however!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Amy Avatar

    What an awesome photo of you and Biasini!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you Amy. Horse show photographers have to stand around for hours in the heat or the cold to take photos of all the riders who have requested photos. But I really appreciate their work as it is wonderful to have these memories.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Amy Avatar

        It’s a labor of love…
        Horses are intelligent creature.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Tina Schell Avatar

    You two look majestic together Anne! Lucky you to have such a marvelous team!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Laleh Chini Avatar

    That’s just wonderful.❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you for reading and leaving a nice comment Laleh!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Laleh Chini Avatar

        My pleasure.<3

        Liked by 1 person

  5. dprastka Avatar

    BEAUTIFUL photos! And how lucky to get that great photo with your village in the background! It truly takes many helpers, (grooms) supporters, coaches and/or trainer’s to get to the show ring. ❤️ You and Biasini look awesome! 💙❤️🧡💚

    Liked by 1 person

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you Diana! It is a wonderful photo!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Jeff Rab Avatar

    Love the last picture, Ann! Both you and Biasini and particularly like seeing your husband backing you up, supporting you and then snapping away to catch it all!!! Love it!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      He is a tireless supporter. Horse show days can be long and he and our little dog take the occasional nap in the car and come back refreshed! Thank you for reading and commenting.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Jeff Rab Avatar

        I think he, and Biasini, are both keepers!!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. anne leueen Avatar

          I could not agree more!

          Liked by 1 person

  7. Subbashini Meenakshi Sundaram Avatar

    Thank you for telling about your supporters, nothing in life is possible without them. Beautiful pictures love those clouds.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you for commenting Subbashini
      We were lucky that the clouds did not produce the thunderstorms that had been forecast.😀

      Like

  8. Emma Cownie Avatar

    So great to have all this support and help. Who knew that horses wore boots – to keep his hooves clean?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      The boots are to protect his lower legs in case he brushes one leg against the other when doing the lateral movements. The boots in front boots on his hooves are in case he overreaches and catches the shoe with one of his back feet and pulls the shoe off. No boots are permitted for wearing during competition in dressage. They are allowed for the jumpers and in the jumping and cross country phases of eventing. Thanks for another good question Emma!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Emma Cownie Avatar

        Oh, that was sso much more complicated than I imagined!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. anne leueen Avatar

          It’s not as bad as it sounds. The boots all have velcro fastenings so they are easy to take off at the end of the warm up.

          Liked by 1 person

  9. Integrity Training Avatar

    Beautiful and immaculate pair! Cute photos of your village 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Thank you! The photo with everyone in the background was a bit of luck

      Liked by 1 person

  10. cagedunn Avatar

    And the people who watch, especially the younger ones, learn they can’t do it on their own, there’s people who can help in so many ways, there’s community in all things.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      Very true. Thank you for this comment

      Liked by 1 person

  11. sandyjwhite Avatar

    You have a fantastic village, Anne!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Robyn Avatar

    That is great! When I run long races I love to see my family along the course handing me my food replenishments – it makes me feel so good. They are so supportive – just like your village is there for you! Awesome!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. anne leueen Avatar

      That is great that you have supporters on your runs. It really makes a difference I think. Thanks for commenting Robyn.

      Liked by 1 person

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