2021 Equine Affaire Fantasia Luke Gingerich and Tinseltowns Whizard Reining / Liberty Freestyle

I could not be more proud of Chloe. When I started her bridleless two years ago, I had no idea we would continue completely bridleless and have the opportunity to share this journey on such a large stage as we did this past week, or that it would have such an impact on so many people. Thank you so much to everyone who shared kind words, hearing many of your comments was so encouraging for me. We have had an intense past six or so months, leading up to showing in the Congress freestyle, and then immediately switching to preparing to show at the ILHA Championship Show, and then Equine Affaire last week. Through all of it, we have both learned and grown so much. When I was looking at bringing Chloe home with me in January of 2019 as a coming two year old, talented but complicated was how she was described to me, and man was that ever true! She is so sensitive and in tune with me and my emotions. If she is confused or if I come across too strongly, she will quickly check out and let me know that I need to adjust. But when we connect and I get excited about something that she is offering, she literally lights up, and I can feel the incredible amount of heart she has. Those moments have not come without an incredible amount of work on both of our parts, and that is what makes times like this past weekend so emotional yet rewarding for me. Fantasia was by far the most challenging atmosphere that we have performed together in, so I made some adjustments to our routine to try to make it a great experience for her, without pushing her too far, and I think we accomplished that. The footing was also not safe for sliding in, so for her sake, I didn't ask her for that, and instead was able to use some of that extra time to try her canter pirouette to spin transition, that we have been working on this year. While that can be a challenging transition for a number of reasons, she stepped up and totally rocked it, and I had so much fun feeling how hard she tried with it. One thing I love about high level performance and competition, is that in my experience, it forces us to always evaluate our priorities, and to stay focused, aware, and flexible about the ever changing dynamics in our relationships with our horses, on a mental, emotional, and physical level. With that being said, I am also really looking forward to getting back home again, and after my Open House at home in a few weeks, having a break from performing to go back to some basics, as well as to be creative and explore some new things, with my horses over the winter. I want to thank Equine Affaire, Inc. (Official) for giving Chloe and I the opportunity to share our journey, to Kaleigh Marie for editing our music for our performance, and to Wendy Platt Johnson and Kelsey Duff for all of your help before and after each of our performances last week. Right now I really don't know exactly what the next stages of Chloe's journey will look like, but I am so thankful for this girl, and all that she has taught me and helped me to experience. #equineaffaire #fantasia #alive #bornforthis #unleashthepower #cryptoaero #espanasilk #yarnellequinemassage #weaverleather #lakotaofohio