Introduction of Key West and Amy Jager

Key West being the sweetheart that he is :)

Key West and I with our champion ECOGOLD cooler at 2010 Blainville CDI

Hello everyone and welcome to the Ontario Young Rider Team’s blog for this year’s NAJYRC competition.

A huge thank you to ECOGOLD for your support of this year’s team, and also for setting up this blog for us. Your support in our team is invaluable. Also to our many other supporters, and the Dressage community in general, we thank you so much. Every show when we come by with our 50/50 tickets, you don’t run, you give. Thank you for that.

I’ll start with an introduction of myself. My name is Amy Jager and I am one of the four members of this year’s Ontario YR team. I am twenty-one years old and am pursuing a degree in Biological science at the University of Guelph. My horse Key West is a 10-year-old Trakehner gelding sired by Charly Chaplin. I have known Key West since he was three years old, and since the first day I met him, he’s had a special place in my heart. If you could describe Key in two words, it would be ‘a gentleman’. He is beyond a doubt the kindest and most willing horse I have ever met. I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to ride him, and I enjoy every moment I spend with him.

A little bit more about me. Well, I am very lucky. This will be my fifth consecutive year representing Canada at the North American Junior and Young Rider championships. My horse Jive, who went with me to last year’s YR World cup in Germany, took me to four NAJYRCs, where we earned team silver and bronze medals. Now, it is Key’s turn to go.

I am very excited for this year’s NAJYRC. I have brilliant teammates, all of whom I know very well. Jaimie Holland, another student of Tom Dvorak, has been my teammate for the last two years. Now, in our final year as Young Rider’s we’re aiming for a gold. Both Maura and Megan were medalists at last year’s NAJYRC as Juniors and are now very competitive at the Young Rider level.

Getting ready for a huge competition like this is very exciting, and of course a lot of work. Also understanding that we’re part of a team for this competition is crucial. Our training lately has been focused on the team test, or the PSG. We want to put our best foot forward for the team component, because we can think about our individual effort afterwards. Getting mentally prepared for the competition is also essential. At random times during the day I’ll find myself going over my tests in my head. Or sometimes I’ll be doing nothing in particular, and I’ll think about something that Tom has told me I need to do. Whether it be to sit more left in the half pass left, or to breathe in the pirouettes, the more you think about the small stuff I think the more it helps.