We made it!

Samuelle & Malacrianza were placed 5th in their Zone (5) covering 5 States — when qualifying for 2025 USHJA National Championships for the 5th time in a row, at 15/yo.

This whole journey has provided us (rider and parents alike,) an unimaginable amount of learning and growth.

In the end, if you break it down, it isn’t so much or at all about the “riding or the placings themselves,” but about everything else along the way. And boy, saying the experience has been MUCH MORE VALUABLE THEN WE COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED is an understatement.

Yes, it absolutely has been a mad and all consuming commitment. Certainly for a ”modest non-horse-world family” like ours. Financially. Emotionally. Physically. Socially. Time wise. You name it. We’ve been called crazy many times amongst other things and we won’t disagree.

Yet- our more comfortable and relatable pre-horse lifestyle would NEVER have taught Samuelle this much resilience, bravery, determination, strength or courage. Witnessing her personal growth over these past years hasn’t seized to amaze us. There is no counting the amount of times Alan and I looked at each other eyes wide open saying “that’s OUR kid!?” —and we get to have these intense and involved experiences with our now teenager, as a team. Seriously?!

Of course, the winning ribbons bring their fair share of excitement, but those moments are fleeting —temporary rewards compared to the deeper joys that come from watching your kid rise again after a fall, learn through every loss, strive to stay humble through every win, push through exhaustion, stay committed to her goals day after day as well as watching her learn to navigate, recognize and seek out the relationships that mutually and equally lift each-other up —embracing honesty, respect, as well as true sportsmanship —keeping the competition fun and exciting!

Realizing the competition isn’t against the other riders, but against herself —and striving to become the best possible version of herself and her team mate, has become the most grounding part of her growth and journey.

The adventure begins 🌟

#USHJA  #USHJAnationalchampionship #ushjaoutreach 

Because the best surprises come with a heartbeat attached. 

Here’s a fun inside story of our USHJA National Championships adventure in Vegas,

Samuelle’s boyfriend, Martim, and his parents planned to surprise her on the very last day and watch her final Grand Prix ride (on a school Friday ). Keeping this a secret took way more effort than anticipated — and a whole series of little lies: why he couldn’t call after dinner (mid-flight ), phone “issues,” disabling location sharing… all the way to literally hiding them in the arena as she came up to watch a few rounds before her turn.

The plan was for Martim to come down to the end gate after her round and congratulate her — regardless of the outcome (a risky move, but the best plan we had). I was supposed to record the moment right after filming her ride, as I do.

She had an exciting Grand Prix but dropped a pole in the jump-off. Snap.
Martim followed the plan perfectly… only to find Samuelle completely confused — and utterly surprised.

Here’s the plot twist: I DIDN’T HIT RECORD.
Not during the jump-off.
Not during the surprise.
Nothing. My jittery fingers failed to engage recording.

I ended hitting record when I thought I was stopping it — right as Martim and I walked away to meet her at the warm-up ring, where she and Havoc were waiting to go back in for ribbons. They placed 7th out of 28 in the Grand Prix and 6th overall in their division. (6-7)

I was so disappointed to have missed capturing one of the highlights of the entire trip… only to discover months later that USHJA had captured the exact moment — her surprised face when she spotted Martim in the stands by the end gate — and published it in their Memorable Moments section.

My heart is full.

Sometimes life makes up for your shortcomings and rewards you with an even more meaningful outcome. Thank you, USHJA @ushunterjumper for capturing this moment for the world to see and for us to safe keep!

#ushja #thoroughbred #memorablemoments