Participating in college athletics at a D1 school teaches a student about responsibility. This week we miss 5 school days for excused athletic absences sanctioned by SMU. Which some students might think is an awesome perk, but in reality is just a lot of extra stress and work. 

I ride better when I have full focus on the competition, and at nationals, I need to bring my best. This means getting a week ahead in all my classes, finishing any assignments and papers for the week before I get on the bus, and organizing all my dates for make-up exams/quizzes.  The bus is a great time to do simple assignments and busy work, but I need to have a clear headspace  and not be worried about any difficult assignments. 

It’s hard to paint the picture of the weekend before nationals, but think of the teacups at Disneyland. I spin around and around. Working on school work, prepping the horses, packing the horses, packing myself, taking a breath for team bonding activities, and then starting all over again. 

So when the alarm goes off at 3:30 to make a 4:15 bus to the airport, I will stop spinning in circles, find my inner sanctuary, and focus on the task at hand– bringing home SMU’s first National Equestrian title.